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THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

1883-1913 



THIRTY YEARS IN THE 

MANCHU CAPITAL 

IN AND AROUND MOUKDEN 
IN PEACE AND WAR: BEING 
THE RECOLLECTIONS OF 
DUGALD CHRISTIE, C.M.G. 

F.R.C.S., F.R.C.P.EDIN. 



EDITED BY HIS WIFE 



NEW YORK 
McBRIDE, NAST & COMPANY 

1914 



oriiSSM? 



JAPAN REFERENCE 1 
LIBRA 

NEW YORK 






What do we ask of life, but leave to serve ? . . . 
I am a road-mender, I serve the footsteps 

of my fellows." Michael Fairies*. 




C^3 



TO OUR CHILDREN 

WHO HAVE SHARED SO MANY OF OUR JOYS 
AND VICISSITUDES 



CONTENTS 

i 

Is it Worth While ? 

PAGE 

Introductory ........ 1 

II 

Uphill Wobk 

1883-1887 — Beginnings of Medical Mission work in Mouk- 
den — Difficulties — Opposition — Evil rumours — Estab- 
lishment of hospital — First operations ... 4 

III 

Moukden : City and People 

The Manchus — 'The people of Manchuria — Country and 
products — Moukden — North Tomb — Roman Catholic 
Mission — Protestant Missions . . . . .12 

IV 

Bridging the Gulf 

Importance of Chinese Rules of Propriety — Politeness — 
Self-control — Separation of sexes — Houses — Dress — Eti- 
quette — Officials — Unintentional offence . . .21 

V 

Medical Practice among the Chinese 

Principles of Chinese medicine — Ancient knowledge of 
surgery — Modern ignorance — Injurious methods — Useful 
methods — Superstitions — Devil-possession — Trouble- 
some patients . . . . . . . .31 



viii THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

VI 

Climatic Conditions, Disease, and Flood 



PAGE 



Climate — Homes of the people — Sanitary conditions — 
Tuberculosis — Eye disease — Epidemics — Flood in 1888 
— Malaria ........ 43 

VII 

East and West : Mistaken Judgments 

Essential similarity of Chinese to other peoples — Accused 
of callousness and ingratitude — Liberality and hospi- 
tality — Trustworthiness — " Squeezing " — Nervous 
temperament — Fatalism — Suicides — Revenge — Brute 
force v. " Reason " — Lack of religious devotion . . 52 

VIII 

Far from the Madding Crowd 

Accessibility of Manchuria — Former remoteness — Old 
methods of travel : cart, boat — Scenery — A journey 
among the mountains — A Polish visitor — Mrs. Bird 
Bishop — The first Russians ..... 64 

IX 

Progress, 1883-1894 

Responsiveness of Manchuria to Christianity — Mixed popu- 
lation, open to impressions — Policy in mission work : 
the Church Chinese, not foreign — Medical Missions — 
Itinerating — Dispensary — Hospital — Training assistants 74 

X 

Side-lights on the Beginnings of a War. 1894 

Chinese ignorance of foreign countries and events — Dis- 
patch of soldiers from Manchuria to fight Japanese — 
Lawlessness of Manchu soldiery — Murder of a missionary 
— Official friendliness ...... 83 

XI 

Grim Reality: The Chino- Japanese War 

Bad news from the front — Quarrels among Chinese Generals 
— Battle of Ping-yang and death of General Tso — 
Anxieties in Moukden — Departure of missionaries — 
Japanese advance . . . . . . .91 



CONTENTS ix 

XII 

Among the Wounded 

PAGE 

Red Cross work in Newchwang — Battles in vicinity — 
Japanese occupation — Attitude of Chinese — Peace — Re- 
turn to Moukden — Government recognition of Red Cross 99 

XIII 

A Strange Aftebmath of War 

Awakening of Manchuria — Desire for Western knowledge — 
Apathy of officials — Crowds inquiring into Christianity 
— Mixed motives — Rules of admission — Rapid increase 
of membership and self-support — Training of evangelists 
and pastors ........ 109 

XIV 

The Story of Blind Chang of the Valley of Peace 

In Moukden Hospital — Witnessing at his own home — 
Baptism — The blind reading — The wandering evangelist 
— The martyr . . . . . . .116 

XV 

Misdirected Patriotism 

Foreign aggression in China — The Reform Movement — 
Coup d'etat of 1898 — Rise of " Boxers " — Blindness to 
the danger — Peaceful condition of Manchuria — Friendli- 
ness of people and officials . . . . .123 

XVI 

The Boxer Madness, 1900 

Causes of iritial success of Boxers : anti-foreign feeling, 
superstition, Government support — Change of attitude 
of Moukden Government — Imperial Edict — Departure 
of missionaries — Burning of Mission buildings — Reign of 
Terror — Martyrdoms — Recantations — Story of Pastor 
Liu — Hospital assistants — Boxers put down by Govern- 
ment . .133 

XVII 

Paying the Price 

Russian occupation — Flight of Governor- General — Anarchy 
in Moukden — Russian entrance — Return of Christians — 
Tales of suffering — Political outlook — Effects of Boxer 
movement on Church . . . . . .151 



x THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

XVHI 

War Again, 1904 

PAGE 

Russia and Japan — Preparedness for war — Japanese ad- 
vance — Battle of Liaoyang — Battle of Sha-ho — Settling 
down for winter — Skirmishes — Friendliness — On the 
Red Cross train . . . . . . .164 

XIX 

In the Midst of the Battle of Moukden 

The Japanese attack — Fighting drawing nearer — The 
Russian retreat — A blinding dust-storm — The last night 
— Russians left behind — Rain of bullets — Chinese atti- 
tude — Japanese spies . . . . . .176 

XX 

The Sufferings of the Innocent 

Red Cross and Refugee Aid work — Housing the crowds — 
Epidemics — Chinese, Russian, and Japanese wounded, 
in one hospital — Unexploded shells — Return of refugees 
— Change in attitude of Chinese to Japanese . .184 

XXI 

Reconstruction 
H.E. Chao Er Sun, Governor-General, 1905-1907 

Reforms in Manchuria : abolition of opium, education, 
girls' schools, road-making, street-lighting, police, sanita- 
tion, finance — Building and opening of new hospital . 196 

XXII 

Spiritual Uplift 

Growth of Church — Development — Aspirations — The " Re- 
vival " — Sense of sin — Higher ideals — Uplift of women 
— Education — Arts College — Theological training . 207 

XXIII 

The Principles of Medical Mission Work 

China Centenary Missionary Conference — Medical Missions 
an essential part of the Church's work — Logical conclu- 
sion : the establishment of medical colleges, and training 
of Chinese medical missionaries . . . .216 



CONTENTS xi 

XXIV 

The Beginnings of Medical Education in Manchukia 
H.E. Hsu Shih Chang, Viceroy, 1907-1909. 

PAGE 

Progress in Moukden : modern buildings, education, col- 
leges, telephone, electric light, tramways — Need for 
medical education — Hindrances — The way opened — 
College site — Government help — Need recognized by 
United Missions — Appeal for funds — Response . . 225 



XXV 

The Black Death 

H.E. Hsi Liang, Viceroy, 1909-1911 

Beginning of the epidemic — Spread by rail — Plague among 
coolies at Moukden station — Death of Dr. Jackson — 
Impression on Chinese — Viceroy's sympathy — memorials 234 



XXVI 

Fighting the Plague. 1911 

Measures taken in Moukden : inspection, isolation, placards 
— Difficulties — New Year calls — Snow — Villages — 
Tragedies — Winning the battle — International Plague 
Conference ........ 246 



XXVII 

Moukden and the Revolution 

H.E. Chao Er Sun, Viceroy, 1911-1912 

Causes of revolution — Moukden Committee for Preservation 

of Peace — Plots — The new Republic — The Red Cross . 258 

XXVIII 

The Moukden Medical College 

Threatened by fire — Applicants for entrance — Examination 
under difficulties — Teaching begun — Prospects for our 
graduates ........ 270 



xii THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

XXIX 

After the Revolution 
H.E. Chang Hsi Lan, Governor, 1912 

PAGE 

Manchuria's hopes and fears — Army Medical Service — 
Changed attitude to Christianity — Student movement 
and Dr. Mott — Day of prayer ..... 278 

XXX 

Looking Forward 
Stability of China — Dangers of changes — Hopes for future 288 

Summary of Events . . . . . . .293 

Index 297 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



A Moukden City Gate .... Frontispiece 

" Over each of the eight great gateways was a tower." 

Moukden Hospital Out-patient Department, and 

College, 1913 . . . . . facing page 6 

"A Slow Placid Stream, almost a Lake" . . 8 

The Small River Bank in Summer .... 10 
" Pleasure-seekers in the tea-booths gaze on the lotus." 

" Broad Streets Lead from Gate to Gate " . . 16 

At the North Tomb ....... 18 

" An archway of fretted marble, behind which the main 
gate is barred against all." 

At the North Tomb ....... 20 

" A broad paved way with large stone animals on either 
side." 

Fishing on the Small River ..... 46 

Moukden Mission Church ...... 76 

" It was built in purely Chinese style." 

Manchu Soldiers ....... 86 

" With large round target on chest and back." 

Entrance to Moukden Hospital before Boxer Time 136 

Refugees from Ruined Villages . . . .186 

" Where were such crowds to be housed ? " 

Red Cross Work, 1905 : The Sufferings of the 

Innocent ........ 188 

H.E. Chao Er Sun, Viceroy 196 

" One of the ablest men available — a notable financier — 
a man of the future." 



xiv THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

FACING PAGE 

Corridor of the Hospital : Wards Opening on Either 

Side 204 

H.E. Hsu Shih Chang, Viceroy 226 

" He maintained the dignity of the Chinese Government." 

A Ward in the Moukden Hospital .... 230 

H.E. Hsi Liang, Viceroy 236 

" He had the heart of a father to those whom he ruled." 

Dr. Arthur Jackson . . . . . . .238 

Dr. Jackson's Grave . . . . . . .244 

Ready for Plague Work ...... 250 

General Chang Tso Lin 264 

" He was watching events with an alert army." 

The Moukden Medical College. . . . . 272 

Dr. Wang . . . 282 

" The influence of a man like Dr. Wang can hardly be 
overestimated. ' ' 

Map of Manchuria . . . . . . At the end 

Plan of Moukden . . . . . . At the end 



This is not a History, still less is it an Autobiography. It 
does not attempt to give a complete account of Manchuria, 
nor even of Moukden, nor to depict minutely its people and 
their customs. There are important missionary develop- 
ments which are not alluded to, or only lightly touched upon. 
Books on Manchuria, and on its wars, and on its Missions 
have already been written. This only attempts to deal with 
personal impressions, and to give a picture of life amid the 
Changeless East of the olden days, and amid the rapid march 
of events which have brought us to the Changed East of 
to-day. 



THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 



IS IT WORTH WHILE ? 

" Oh, ye that might be clothed with all things pleasant, 
Ye are foolish that put off the fair soft present." 

William Black. 

" A lang dreich road, ye had better let it be." 

Scottish Song. 

COLD November, the wind whistling over the dreary 
Manchurian plain of dull, brown, hard earth, with 
not a blade of grass, leafless brown trees, earth-coloured 
houses with low earth-coloured roofs, no hills, no colour, 
all a dead level of monotony ; only the brilliant blue 
arch overhead and the clear dazzling sunshine mocking 
the dullness and chill dreariness — a complete contrast 
to the good old homeland with its changeful cloudy skies, 
and ever- varying hues of mountain, moor, and lake, 
fresh green grass and purple heather. And instead of 
friends, comrades, fellow-countrymen, with aims and 
ideals like our own, are thousands and millions of these 
inscrutable Chinese, from Newchwang on the threshold 
to the far interior, hostile, indifferent, or at best curious, 
all busy with their own daily toil, with neither thought 
nor desire beyond it. 

On coming out to Manchuria in 1882, as a medical 
missionary of the United Presbyterian (now United Free) 



2 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Church of Scotland, I was faced with remonstrances and 
obstacles which were perhaps commoner then than now. 

" Why go to China ? " said one of my professors. 
" You have good prospects before you at home." 

" Missions are a failure," seemed to be the verdict of 
Shanghai. " To join them is to throw away your life." 

" Why go up-country ? " was the question at New- 
chwang. " Settle here and you can easily make a good 
income, and do as much for the Chinese as you like 
at the same time." 

" You are attempting the impossible," was the common 
opinion. " The Chinese do not want you. Their own 
religions suit them quite well, and they are content with 
what medicines they have." 

"I'll give you one word of advice, young man," said 
one old doctor who had been years in China. " Never 
trust a Chinaman with anything, not even a single pill ! " 

One could not help asking oneself : Is it really quixotic 
as they say ? What can a handful of foreigners do among 
these millions ? — To make known among the sufferers 
that Someone cares, to share in lighting in Manchuria 
the inextinguishable Torch of Truth, to help to set in 
motion the mighty powers of the Coming Age — this is the 
Vision. Is it worth while to try ? 

Thirty years have gone by, and what is their record ? 
Hostility and persecutions, our houses and all our worldly 
goods burned, wars and deadly plague, tragic death among 
our ranks, partings with children sent away to the home- 
land — they have not been smooth years, but it has been 
worth while. 

We look back on almost incredible changes, and all 
who have shared in them feel that it has been a great 
thing to take part in the Awakening of a Nation, the 
Regeneration of a great People. Hostility to foreigners is 
at an end. In all public emergencies, plague, war, famine, 
it is the missionaries, and of necessity specially the 



IS IT WORTH WHILE? 3 

medical missionaries, that are looked to for advice and 
help. We count among our friends one Viceroy after 
another, and all the high officials ; and those who travel 
in Manchuria to-day bear witness to the remarkable 
friendliness of the country people everywhere. 

The Torch of Truth is burning brightly all over the land. 
Christianity is regarded with a kindly eye and respected 
by high and low. Christian schools and colleges are in 
the van in the march of education. The Church of Christ 
in Manchuria numbers its flock by tens of thousands. 

In Moukden, not to mention other places, hundreds of 
thousands of sufferers have been treated, and the hospital 
is known far and near. From the Christian Medical 
College, largely supported by Government, will soon 
issue a stream of Chinese medical men to do their part 
in serving God and their country. 

The Christian Ideal of Service has made its appeal, and 
the popular mind is increasingly responding to it, and 
recognizing it as the Ideal towards which China too must 
strive. The Government's request for a Day of Christian 
Prayer met with ready response in Manchuria, and drew 
officials and people together to our churches to express 
their sense of their country's need of help and guidance 
from the Great God over all. 



II 



UPHILL WORK 



" Does the road wind uphill all the way ? " 

Christina Rossetti. 

" The best is yet to be." 

Robert Browning. 

IN the spring of 1883 a small handful of foreigners 
settled down to live in the city of Moukden, the 
capital of Manchuria, and when it became known that 
one was a doctor, there was much excitement. Premises 
being difficult to get, a small dispensary was fitted up in 
our own compound, and there I began to see patients, 
though I had been but a few months in the country and 
knew little of the language. At first the medical work 
done was small. Crowds came, each man professing to 
have an ailment, and receiving appropriate medicine, 
but it is questionable how much of that medicine was 
ever used, even when the disease was genuine. The real 
object of many was merely to see the foreigner. This 
they were allowed to do without let or hindrance, the 
unused medicine had its use, gradually the excitement 
died down, the numbers diminished, and real work began. 
For months, indeed years, it was an uphill fight. The 
patients were as much taken up with the strange foreigner 
as with their own ailments. The language was difficult. 
Having no trained assistant, I had at first to make up 
my own prescriptions, and administer chloroform and 
operate single-handed. The waiting-room was very 
small, consulting-room and dispensary were in one, there 

4 



UPHILL WORK 5 

was no hospital accommodation at all, and those on 
whom I operated had to stay in their own homes or in 
inns. 

The most serious obstacle of all was that few came to 
us except as a last resource, when the disease had become 
chronic, when native doctors had failed, when there 
seemed to be little hope. There was, moreover, a great 
deal of suspicion of the foreigner and his drugs. Some 
said that the missionaries were but the vanguard of an 
English host who were coming to invade China. Others 
were convinced that our medicine could change the 
hearts of those who used it, and compel them to follow 
the foreigner and believe his teaching. A mandarin came 
one day to have a painful tooth extracted, and so afraid 
was he of our drugs that he would not even wash out his 
mouth with the water provided. The old story was set 
afloat, that children's hearts and eyes were taken out and 
used for concocting medicine and for photographic 
purposes. 

" How can a box see to make pictures," it was reasoned, 
" if it has not eyes inside ? " 

In one quarter of Moukden there is a large Moham- 
medan population, and among these were many so-called 
doctors. These men were alarmed lest their gains might 
be lessened, so they set themselves to circulate evil tales 
and rumours about us. As China was at war with France 
in the south, these were the more readily believed. 
Placards against us were posted up in the city and some- 
times on our own gates. Efforts were made to frighten 
us out of the country. Our assistants and servants were 
threatened on the public streets, foul language and some- 
times mud and stones were thrown at us, and more than 
once the day was fixed for the burning of our houses. 
Large crowds gathered to see what would happen, and 
there was much excited talk. This was alarming enough 
at the time, though nothing ever came of it. 

One day, during the summer of 1884, a French Catholic 



6 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

priest called on us, clad in the usual long black robe. 
He came in a cart, remained some time in our house, and 
then returned home. The dispensary was at the time 
full of patients, so that many knew of his visit. Next day 
rumours against us were floating about, and our assistants 
were warned not to appear on the streets. Then crowds 
gathered outside our gate, and there was considerable 
excitement. The story generally believed was as 
follows : 

The Catholics and we were alike anxious to obtain 
children's hearts and eyes, and were willing to give large 
sums for them. When the priest called, he brought under 
his robe a little child. We retired into a dark room, 
weighed it, removed the eyes and heart, and agreed upon 
the price. This trade in children had been carried on 
for some time, and the next day three carts left the city 
laden with hearts and eyes. Three points of the story 
were true. A little Mohammedan child was lost ; a black- 
robed priest called on us ; and a foreigner who had been 
in Moukden left the city with three carts the day after 
the priest's visit. 

Not long afterwards a mother brought her young 
daughter for treatment ; and while the woman was 
detailing to me her symptoms the girl slipped out of the 
room, frightened at the sight of the foreigner of whom 
she had heard such terrible things. When the flow of the 
mother's eloquence subsided she looked round, but her 
daughter was gone ! In great agitation she rushed back 
to the waiting-room, but she was not there. A general 
search inside and outside the compound was in vain. 
The mother, firmly convinced that we had stolen the girl, 
became violent and loudly insisted that she be given up. 
At last someone suggested that she might have run off 
to the inn where they were staying. A man was sent 
to find out, and there the little fugitive was, glad to have 
escaped safely from that awful foreigner. Even when this 
news was brought, it was with difficulty that the excited 



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woman was persuaded to leave the compound. Of course, 
this was the last we saw of that patient. 

These fears and suspicions gradually died out, but for 
some years we were occasionally reminded that the eye 
is a suspicious member. There was an instance even as 
late as 1892. A little girl was brought to us with a very 
unsightly growth on a blind eye. Her mother, who had 
been in the hospital before and had trust in us, was 
anxious to have the growth removed, as it seriously 
injured her chances of a good marriage. I performed the 
necessary operation, and afterwards presented the patient 
with a glass eye. Both mother and daughter were much 
pleased, for it fitted perfectly and greatly improved the 
girl's appearance. A day or two afterwards the woman 
brought the child to me and asked me to take back the 
eye. I have no doubt that her friends frightened her out 
of keeping a foreign eye. 

The chief factor in dispelling such suspicions has been 
steady quiet medical and surgical work, done openly, and 
combined with Christian kindness. 

It was not until we had been in Moukden nearly two 
years that we were able to open what we called " a 
hospital," in a small rickety building just behind our 
house. It had room for twelve patients and was crowded 
most of the time. It is wonderful what good results were 
obtained in such an unsatisfactory place. At the time 
of the heavy summer rains one wall of the building fell 
and it seemed as if others would follow, but the house was 
successfully propped up and compelled to shelter our 
sick folk for some time longer, though it was so miserably 
cold in winter that we had to close it for a couple of 
months. In the heavy rains of the following summer 
it collapsed and became a total wreck. Another tem- 
porary hospital was then rented with somewhat better 
accommodation, on the very site where now stands the 
Medical College, and this sufficed for over a year, by which 
time our permanent premises were ready for use. 



8 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Among the earliest patients in our tumble -down 
quarters were the two first cataract cases operated on 
in Manchuria. One was a merchant in the city, whose 
right eye had been blind for several years, and whose 
left eye had now failed from the same cause. There was 
a good deal of interest shown in this case as the man was 
well known, and giving sight to the blind was unheard of. 
Our little hospital was very dark, so the operating -table 
was drawn out to the open air. A number of people 
gathered round, including some officials, and the opera- 
tion was performed in public, amid breathless expectancy. 
All went well, and when I held up my fingers and the 
people heard him count them, there was quite a sensation. 
While this merchant was still with us, a blind man was 
led in by his boy, whom he had never seen. He was a 
village school teacher, but for years had been sightless, 
idle, and poor. A few days later the table was again placed 
in the sunshine, and a still larger crowd gathered, for the 
fame of the first cure had spread. When the man realized 
that he could see, we could hardly hold him down on the 
table, until I called forward his son and he gazed on his 
face for the first time long and silently. 

Many other operations were performed, and the fame 
of foreign surgery soon spread far and wide. A merchant 
came to us who had suffered since childhood from a pain- 
ful disease. For two years he had not had a night's rest, 
sleeping only by snatches. He was thirty-eight years of 
age, but the constant pain was ageing him before his 
time. He had consulted me a year previously, but when 
I explained to him the nature of the operation which 
was the only means of saving his life, he refused to submit 
to it. He returned rather to the native doctors, of whom 
he consulted first to last about a hundred, besides several 
witches ; but their treatment only added to his suffering. 
He was one of those who hated the foreigner and lost no 
opportunity of reviling us. Now at last, as his only 
chance for life, he resolved to submit to our treatment. 



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UPHILL WORK 9 

It was an anxious case for us. He was well known 
among merchants, a class who looked with disfavour 
on our presence here, and among whom we had then few 
patients. The operation, if successful, might do much to 
break down their prejudices. Failure, on the other hand, 
might have serious consequences in raising evil reports 
against us. The patient was weak, emaciated, excitable, 
and worn out with prolonged pain and sleeplessness. 
The operation, however, was a complete success, and he 
made a good recovery. A few weeks later he sent a 
subscription to the hospital and put up a handsome tablet 
as an expression of gratitude. He always continued a 
warm friend to the hospital, exercising his influence in our 
favour among his fellow-merchants, and later on he 
joined the Christian Church. 

It was a long time before we had a case of amputation 
of more than fingers or toes. This was not because dis- 
eased limbs are uncommon, for hardly a week passes 
without such cases coming under our notice. But many 
a Chinese would rather die than lose a leg or an arm ; 
when laid in his coffin he must be complete to enter fitly 
on the dim Unknown. Another reason was the want of 
confidence in any doctor's verdict, and the lingering hope 
that, after all, the knife might not be necessary. This 
hope is less unreasonable than one would at first think, 
for the Chinese have wonderful recuperative powers. 

When our first amputation case came, it seemed almost 
a hopeless one. Three months before, while the patient 
was carting stones, a large stone had fallen with great 
violence against his arm, shattering it, and knocking him 
down so that the wheel passed over his foot. A native 
doctor was sent for, who without attempting to replace 
the bones applied to the arm the universally-used black 
plaster, and told him not to move it. After a week it was 
noticed that the fingers were getting black, and on re- 
moving the plaster the whole forearm was found to be 
dead or dying. Since then matters had grown steadily 



10 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

worse, and now, after three months' suffering, all hope 
of recovery was given up, and as a last chance the dying 
man was carried to the dispensary, covered with bed 
sores and so weak that he could hardly speak. One end 
of the fractured bone was protruding, and a splint of 
millet-stalk which had supported the arm had got em- 
bedded in the tissues, so that the least movement caused 
severe pain and bleeding. The smell from the arm was 
overpowering and most trying to the patient and all 
near him, and his foot too was very painful. He and his 
friends were anxious for amputation. He was already 
dying, and if we could not cure him it would be an easy 
way to get quit of life. When the operation was per- 
formed, his heart was so feeble that for some time we 
feared he would not rally. He came round, however, and 
from that day steadily gained strength. 

Very slowly the number increased of those willing to 
submit to amputation in order to save their lives, and 
even to this day many a man puts off his consent until too 
late. For a long time every amputated limb had to be care- 
fully preserved and given to its owner, who kept it against 
his burial, that it might be put with him in his coffin, and 
thus be restored to him in whatever life might await him. 

It was never intended that medical work should 
permanently be carried on in buildings meant for small 
Chinese dwelling-houses. From the beginning, efforts 
were made to buy a compound suitable for a permanent 
hospital and dispensary, but this was no easy matter. 
There was great unwillingness to sell to foreigners, and 
our choice was restricted to places within reach of our 
dwelling-house and in suitable situations. Time after 
time we seemed about to succeed, but the desired property 
slipped from our grasp. At last a friendly official, whose 
house was not a hundred yards to the east of ours, 
received an appointment to another province, and con- 
sented to sell us his compound, a site which was in every 
way suitable. 




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UPHILL WORK 11 

In the south-east of the city, not far from the busy 
streets, is a slow placid stream almost a lake, called the 
Small River. In summer its banks are a favourite resort 
of pleasure -seekers and holiday-makers, who chat and 
sip tea in the many tea-booths, gaze on the beautiful 
broad-leafed delicate pink lotus flowers floating on the 
water, and breathe in what is considered the best air in 
Moukden. On a terrace overlooking this stream we had 
been fortunate enough to secure two compounds for 
houses, and from our point of view there was no more 
desirable spot in Moukden than that which was now to 
be our hospital. The existing buildings we utilized as 
wards, and erected an entirely new and commodious 
dispensary in front. The premises were formally opened 
in 1887 by a friendly Manchu official of high rank, the 
President of the Board of War, in the presence of a large 
gathering of the leading mandarins of the city. On the 
same day an enthusiastic meeting of the Christians was 
held in the waiting-room, which could hold about 150. 
The hospital had accommodation for fifty men and fifteen 
women. 

Thus ended the first stage of my experiences in Mouk- 
den, the initial stage of fighting down suspicion and 
opposition, and establishing ourselves in the confidence 
of the people. 



Ill 



MOUKDEN : CITY AND PEOPLE 

" There is a world outside the one you know." 

Rudyard Kipling. 

"Who doth ambition shun, 
And loves to live i' the sun, 
Seeking the food he eats, 
And pleased with what he gets, 
Come hither, come hither, come hither; 
Here shall he see 
No enemy 
But winter and rough weather." 

Shakespeare. 

ABOUT the time when all England was ringing with 
- news of the coming Armada, a warlike tribe from 
the mountains in the east was threatening to overwhelm 
what we now call Southern Manchuria. Its wide fertile 
plain had been colonized by Chinese settlers, and was 
dotted with towns and cities. The corrupt Ming Dynasty 
of China was tottering to its fall, and all efforts made to 
beat back the advance of those vigorous mountaineers, 
the Manchus, were but futile. City after city fell before 
them, and every man who did not wish to be beheaded 
shaved his head and cultivated a queue. Those who 
thus submitted were encouraged to enrol themselves 
under the victorious Nurhachu, forming the "Chinese 
Bannermen." The Manchu tribesmen and their helpers 
the Bannermen were not content till all China lay at their 
feet, and so was founded that Manchu Dynasty which has 
just passed away, after bearing rule over China for 270 
years. 

12 



MOUKDEN: CITY AND PEOPLE 13 

Moukden was an important city before the Manchus 
took it and made it their capital, but the present city 
wall and Imperial Palace only date from that time. 
When Peking fell before them, it in its turn became the 
capital, and Nurhachu's grandson the first Manchu 
Emperor ; but Moukden has always been regarded as the 
home of the D}aiasty, and near it are the tombs of the 
old warrior Nurhachu and of his son. 

Southern Manchuria was never largely populated by 
Manchus. Its inhabitants have always been of mixed 
race, aboriginal tribes of kindred stock to the Manchus 
originally occupying the mountain districts, but Chinese 
the plains. In the course of time intermarriages have 
obliterated differences, and Manchu, Bannerman, and 
Chinaman are practically indistinguishable. The Manchu 
language has completely died out and Chinese is uni- 
versally used, the dialect spoken being Mandarin, the 
same as at Peking. Only in the case of old families is the 
distinction perpetuated, and the line proudly traced 
back to the time of " the Conqueror." There are still a 
few Manchu towns and villages, especially near the old 
Imperial tombs, where the people are most exclusive 
and only marry among themselves. Farther north the 
Manchu element is more distinct, but in the greater part 
of South Manchuria it is very little in evidence, those 
of the original Manchu stock having been for the most 
part transferred to other parts of China to garrison the 
cities. 

To the superficial observer it seems untrue that 
Manchuria is really Chinese, for wherever he goes he is 
struck with the curious, picturesque, and typically 
Manchu head-dress of the women, with its sparkling 
silver, gilt, or enamelled ornaments. They wear the 
long Manchu robe, too, instead of the jacket and skirt of 
the Chinese woman, and they walk on their own natural 
feet, not on crippled and crushed deformities. How can 
the people be Chinese when the women are so evidently 



14 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Manchu ? The truth is that they are not Manchu but 
Manchurian. 

" Where do you come from ? " you ask a man. 

" I come from Shantung." 

" How long have you been in Manchuria ? " 

" Two hundred years," he answers gravely. 

Every year they are still crowding in from Shantung, 
Chihli, and other provinces. The woman who in her 
old home opposed tooth and nail the loosening by the 
fraction of an inch her little girl's foot-bandages, follows 
her husband to far Manchuria and settles down among her 
large-footed, rosy-cheeked sisters of the north. In a few 
years there are other little girls growing up in the home, 
with natural feet and Manchu dress, and in time they 
will marry and put up their hair in Manchu style. They 
have become Manchurian. The removal of these people 
from their ancient ancestral homes, and the gathering 
together of families from various provinces, result in a 
marked lessening of their conservatism, prejudices, and 
superstitions. Local ideas and customs often vary so 
greatly that when brought into close contact they 
neutralize each other. The consequence is that the 
people of Manchuria are, speaking generally, more open 
to new impressions than their kinsmen whom they left 
behind in the old rut in the China behind the Great Wall. 

The Three Eastern Provinces, as Manchuria is usually 
called by the Chinese, are not nearly so crowded as the 
rest of China, their total population being estimated at 
from fifteen to twenty millions. It is increasing rapidly 
by reason of constant immigration. Southern Manchuria, 
the province of Fengtien, is far the most populous and 
furthest developed of the three. In its rich alluvial 
plains are innumerable villages and many towns. It is 
astonishingly fertile, yielding two crops in the year in 
spite of the long rigorous winter. The principal produce 
is millet, without which it is difficult to see how the people 
of Manchuria could live. It is the staple food of man and 



MOUKDEN: CITY AND PEOPLE 15 

beast, and is so productive that one grain bears eight 
hundredfold. The long stalk, strong but brittle, is the 
household fuel, and the material for roofing below tiles 
or lime, fences, partitions, and many other things. Every 
country house or cot grows its own millet, beans, and 
other vegetables, selling the surplus to provide the few 
other necessaries of life. 

One feature of the landscape strikes every new-comer — 
the graves. Outside a city there are miles of wasted space 
with endless conical mounds, the public free cemeteries, 
and in whatever direction one turns there are smaller 
private burying-grounds. In time one learns to be 
grateful for the green they furnish. The vast, cultivated, 
level plain would be more overpoweringly monotonous 
but for the family graveyards dotted here and there, with 
their fresh green turf in the springtime, and their dark 
green pine trees when all else is brown. 

Manchuria is not all plain, though the most populous 
parts are. There are also hills with cultivated slopes, 
abrupt heights whose wooded crags are crowned with 
Buddhist retreats, long winding valleys with nestling 
hamlets and great rivers, and away to the east are mighty 
mountains and the glory of snow peaks and virgin forest. 

Moukden stands on the plain, with low hills in sight 
six or eight miles to the south and east. A river from 
the distant eastern mountains, the Hun, passes a few 
miles from the city, between it and the hills. Ancient 
Moukden was not large., the. massive battlemented wall 
of Nurhachu, 40 ft. frigB iind 30 ft. : wide *at its summit, 
enclosing a space of little over a mile square. At each 
corner and oveh each* £?£ thie* eight great : gateways was a 
tower, besides the % Drtim Tower 'and 'Bell Tower in the 
midst of the city, so that from afar it looked a veritable 
city of towers. Much of this ancient glory has departed, 
as within recent years most of the towers have been 
removed, the masonry being unsafe. The grey old wall 
still stands, and tells how well and strongly they built of 



16 THIRTY YEARS IM MOUKDEN 

old, and in the deep arched gateways the heavy iron- 
studded doors still shut ponderously when night comes, 
and prevent the benighted traveller from entering or 
leaving the city. 

Broad streets lead from gate to gate, with narrow 
intersecting cross lanes. In the centre is the brilliant 
orange-roofed Imperial Palace, without inhabitant for 
over two hundred years, but containing priceless trea- 
sures of Manchu relics and antique ware. Within the 
city walls are all the yamens, official buildings and 
residences, banks, and principal merchants, but few 
live there except those connected with these establish- 
ments and the many shops. Up to 1905 there were none 
but one-story houses and practically no attempt at 
architecture, and most of the buildings are still of the 
old type. 

The principal business street was and is notable not 
by reason of fine buildings, but for the large, gorgeous 
protruding shop-signs, enormous peacocks, dragons, etc., 
coloured brilliantly and beautifully. At one end of this 
street is the old Drum Tower, where the war-drum still 
stands, beat of old in time of war or public danger. At 
the other end is the Bell Tower with its ancient bell, tolled 
peacefully until recent years as a curfew and to mark the 
watches of the night, and beat still when there is a fire 
in the city. A mile or more outside the old wall is a 
second wall of earth, about ten miles in circumference, 
and between these are the populous suburbs. 

It is estimated that Moukden has a population of about 
two hundred thousand. It is the governmental, literary, 
educational, and commercial capital of-Manchuria. Large 
numbers of expectant "officials 'congregate here, because 
here resides the head of the Government, the Tartar- 
General or Governor-General, Viceroy, or Governor, as he 
has been variously called. 

There is one marked difference between Moukden and 
a European, especially a British, city, and indeed between 



MOUKDEN: CITY AND PEOPLE 1? 

Moukden and most cities in China : the men far out- 
number the women. There are bankers whose women- 
folk are in far-off Shansi ; merchants in hundreds from 
Chihli, who go home to visit their families annually ; 
craftsmen and labourers innumerable, who have not yet 
sent for their wives from the old home in another province ; 
besides men from all over South Manchuria, who go home 
once or twice a year, and would not think of bringing their 
wives to the city. All these live for the most part at 
their places of business. There are also many families 
following the old patriarchal customs, several generations, 
sometimes over a hundred souls, forming one large home. 
There is an ever-increasing number, however, of small 
homes, a man with his wife and children and perhaps an 
old grandfather or mother, just as in our own land. 

A busy, industrious, contented people they are, 
prosperous and comfortable according to their own ideals, 
peaceable and law-abiding. Policemen were unknown 
before 1905. Men lived as their fathers had lived, and 
asked for nothing better. The shops shut at sundown, 
and the unlighted streets were silent and deserted till 
dawn. 

A few miles north of the city, across an open grassy 
plain, is a spot which goes far to atone for the monotony 
and dullness of the country round Moukden — the tomb 
of Nurhachu's son, deep buried among trees. The outer 
circle is genuine wild-wood, with straggling paths seeming 
to lead nowhere, among wild flowers, dense thickets, and 
open glades. One could lose oneself for a June afternoon 
amid the startling beauty of white tree-blossom or 
trailing clematis against the vivid young green of the 
oaks and birches, while through the green and the white 
the blue gleams bluer, and the sun strikes sudden brilliant 
patches into the dark shadows. Deep among the trees 
the birds twitter and sing as nowhere else near Moukden, 
and overhead in the intense radiance hover and balance 
the keen-eyed hawks. Through the trees glistens a vivid 



18 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

red wall enclosing the tomb, with glimpses of yellow 
tiled roofs within. South of this rectangular enclosure 
stands solitary an archway of fretted white marble, 
behind which the main gate is barred against all. It is 
only opened when the official representative of the 
Emperor sacrifices at the shrine of this ancestor of the 
dynasty. 

For many years the side gates too were closely barred, 
and none might see within the sacred precincts except the 
Manchu guard who lived there. Now to east and west the 
gates stand open, with an arching avenue of pines from one 
to the other. The pine trees inside the enclosure are 
arranged in such perfect symmetry that in whatever 
direction one looks it is down a long straight avenue. 
The undergrowth is cut, and the contrast is striking 
from the wild luxuriance and colour of nature outside, 
to this cool, solemn, dark-treed symmetry. 

From the closed south gate there leads a broad paved 
way, with large stone animals on either side, to an inner 
enclosure, whose gate is only opened to bearers of a pass, 
or to those known to the wardens of the tomb. Inside 
is a silent paved courtyard, guarded by high towers and 
a broad battlemented wall, and in the innermost part of 
all a great round grassy mound, the grave itself, with a 
tree growing on the top. Behind all this, keeping away 
the evil influences from the north, is a long artificial hill 
overgrown with trees and creepers, from which can be 
viewed the whole enclosure with its enfolding woods, 
and the walls and towers of the city of Moukden away 
across the plain. 

The first foreigners to settle in Moukden, or indeed in 
any part of Manchuria, were French Roman Catholic 
priests. This was in 1838, and by 1882 they had a fine 
cathedral, schools, orphanages, a priests' seminary, and a 
nunnery, besides dwelling-houses for bishop and priests, 
all in one large compound in the south suburb. The 
general policy of the Roman Catholic Mission seems to 



MOUKDEN: CITY AND PEOPLE 19 

have been all along to keep their converts separate from 
other people. There are, dotted throughout the country, 
distinctively Roman Catholic villages with many Chris- 
tians of the fifth and sixth generations. They are a well- 
behaved, clean, industrious part of the community. 
Their children are instructed closely and carefully, and 
orphans are constantly received. In the cities the priests 
do not seem to conduct any open aggressive propaganda, 
but come and go among their own people, and live quietly 
in their own compound, a little world in itself. 

One or two Protestant missionaries visited Moukden 
from 1867 onwards, but no serious attempt was made 
to work there until 1874. At that time the anti-foreign 
feeling among all classes was very strong. The agitation 
and bitterness which had culminated in the Tientsin 
massacre of 1870 were felt in Manchuria also, and there 
was hardly a man in the city who would speak a word in 
favour of the detested " foreign devil." It was not easy 
for a missionary to gain a footing, and yet it was felt that 
no real hold could be taken of the province so long as 
only village work was done. A Chinese evangelist was 
sent first, who sold books, preached, had long private 
talks and discussions with those interested, and by his 
patience and tact opened the way for further effort. 

There the Rev. John Ross, and Rev. John Maclntyre, 
of the United Presbyterian (now United Free) Church of 
Scotland, paid repeated visits from Newchwang, and later 
on Dr. Ross stayed as long as six months at a time, living 
in a private room in a Chinese inn. There was much 
opposition, much mud-throwing both literal and figurative, 
and more than once something very near a riot. But 
gradually this died down, and out of the persecution 
emerged a small Christian congregation. A preaching 
chapel was opened on one of the busiest streets, where 
daily public preaching for outsiders and evening worship 
for the Christians were held. At last it became possible 
to get property for a missionary dwelling-house. First 



20 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

one compound was acquired on the Small River bank 
in the east suburb, then another, until now there is quite 
a little colony there, with hospitals, houses, schools, and 
Medical College. A church is not far off, and three miles 
away, in the west suburb, are another church, an arts 
college, and missionaries' dwellings. 



IV 



BRIDGING THE GULF 



" If you do not learn the rules of propriety, your character cannot 
be established." 

" The Superior Man subdues himself, and submits to these rules of 
propriety ; he neither looks, hears, speaks, nor makes any movement 
contrary to them." — Confucius. 

UNFORTUNATELY for the foreigner, the " rules of 
propriety," according to Chinese usage, are often 
diametrically opposed to the customs of the West. The 
European gentleman, even if he has a University educa- 
tion and polished manners, seems a mere boor to the 
uninitiated Chinaman, and offends at every turn against 
the strict etiquette of this ancient civilization, an etiquette 
which in its main points is observed by the lowest coolie. 
The character therefore of the European or American is 
" not established." The very appellation " foreigner " 
means an outsider, a man from a country outside this 
Middle Kingdom where the Golden Mean prevails. 

Wherever he goes, the foreigner helps to confirm this 
opinion of him. He is travelling in the interior, it may be 
on horseback, and he rides through the quiet country 
hamlets as he would at home, at a rapid pace. As he 
passes a group of men he calls out : 

" Which is the way to X ? " 

He probably gets no reply, and rides on thinking 
what unmannerly louts these Chinese yokels are. 

A rough uneducated countryman is the next traveller. 
He pulls in his horse to a slow amble as he enters the 

21 



22 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

village, — this is one of the " rules of propriety." On 
reaching the group of villagers he dismounts, — rule 
number two. 

" May I borrow your light ? " he asks. This is an 
apology for troubling them, — rule number three. Then 

he too inquires the way to X , and receives ready 

help ; if need be a man will even accompany him to point 
out the way. Thereafter these same yokels not un- 
naturally remark to each other what unmannerly louts 
foreigners are, ignorant of the most elementary rules of 
propriety. 

All over China the experience has been general that in 
settling down in a new city or district, the foreigner, 
be he merchant or missionary, meets with opposition, 
suspicion, and misunderstanding. Of course it is 
possible to ignore this, and go one's own way regardless 
of what people are saying and thinking. But the secret 
dislike and misjudging of foreigners, so common still in 
many parts of China, spring from this very ignoring of 
the feelings and opinions of the people. It would seem 
a wiser policy to study the causes of the dislike, to seek 
to remove them, and to avoid every possible occasion of 
offence. 

For instance, great indignation has more than once 
been roused, almost amounting to a riot, by the careless 
use of paper with Chinese characters on it. The sacred 
characters were being degraded ; when such paper is no 
longer wanted it should be burned. Again, a leading 
characteristic of the Superior Man as depicted in the 
Confucian Classics, and as admired by all classes of 
Chinese, is self-control, — he " subdues himself." The 
ordinary man never dreams of putting this into practice, 
but he expects it from anyone who claims to be a scholar 
or a leader. Many a foreigner takes up the position of 
being greatly superior to the Chinese around, while all the 
time these Chinese are contemptuously laughing in their 
sleeves at this stranger who so easily loses his temper. 



BRIDGING THE GULF 23 

To strike or kick under any provocation whatever brands 
a man as an uncultured barbarian. Western impatience 
too calls forth contempt. The Superior Man takes every- 
thing philosophically, and bears calmly all delays and 
disappointments . 

In the early days, the freedom of intercourse between 
foreigners of different sexes, especially in the Treaty 
Ports, was a great offence to the Chinese, and was the 
beginning of the low opinion of foreigners so commonly 
held. In Manchuria women were much less restricted 
than in other parts of the country, but there was still an 
invisible line which held society in two parts as by a bar of 
iron. To a foreign mind the things which might and 
might not be done were wholly unreasonable. But then 
to a Chinese mind the foreign rules of propriety had still 
less reason, indeed they were both wrong and ridiculous. 
It is then no easy task that a foreigner sets himself when 
he decides to avoid offending Chinese ideas. In its 
entirety it is impossible, but it is well worth while to do 
all one can to gain the respect and friendship of any 
people among whom one is going to live. 

When we settled down in Moukden our first need was 
houses. In Manchuria, as in the greater part of North 
China, there were no two -story buildings except a few 
temples. 

"Gods may dwell in towers, but not men," is the 
saying. 

To build a foreign house in those days would have been 
to court trouble ; a two -story house would have meant a 
riot. So the compounds were Chinese to outward seeming, 
with massive gateways, and servants' quarters at the 
entrance. The house in its garden behind the inner 
wall might have foreign windows and doors, foreign 
flooring and stoves, but nothing of that could be seen 
by the passer-by, or even by the visitor to the outer 
yard. 

There came the question of clothing, for a foreigner's 



24 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

dress was the first thing which attracted attention. A 
man appearing in public, clad in a short jacket and tight - 
fitting trousers, was at that time an offence to the Chinese 
sense of common decency ; a respectably dressed man 
always wore a long robe. A woman in a closely fitting 
dress was still worse in their eyes, the Chinese female garb 
being loose and flowing. So for a good many years loose 
robes, long coats, dressing-gowns, tea-gowns were affected 
by most of the foreigners in their intercourse with Chinese. 
The native dress was not commonly worn by them — 
there are practical difficulties in the way of adopting it 
entirely, and half-measures seemed of little use — but 
such foreign garments were chosen as would harmonize 
with popular ideas of propriety. 

These questions of housing and clothing were easily 
settled. The study of the Chinese laws of etiquette was a 
more complicated matter. It was not difficult to master 
enough of the general rules and customs to get on fairly 
well with the lower classes of the people, and carry on 
work successfully in dispensary and hospital. But I was 
early brought up against the question of intercourse with 
officials, where detailed etiquette is of the first importance. 
One may so easily make a mistake which amounts to 
insulting an official before his underlings, and which will 
probably cause him to curse the unmannerliness of the 
foreigner, and effectively prevent any further intercourse 
with him. 

When an official visitor is announced, gate and door 
must be opened wide ready to receive him, and the host 
should meet him between the two. The position of 
honour is north before south, east before west, so the 
host must keep to the west of the pathway and house door, 
which always faces south. He must not walk exactly 
beside his guest, but always half a step behind. When 
inside the room it is important to offer the proper seat, 
but a foreign house being differently arranged from a 
Chinese one, it is not always easy to know which this is. 



BRIDGING THE GULF 25 

It should be as far from the door as possible, and the 
host must sit nearer the door, and to the west of his guest 
if he can. Tea is always served whatever the time of day, 
but the correct moment must be chosen for offering it. 
On formal occasions or first visits, the host takes the cup 
with both hands and places it with a bow before his 
guest, who rises and receives it in both his hands, saying 
something polite. The host then invites his guest to 
drink, and this they do simultaneously, taking the same 
number of sips, and replacing their cups at the same 
moment. It will easily be seen how readily the foreigner 
may offend, for there are a hundred minor points which 
give opportunity to show different gradations of respect 
and cordiality. 

When a foreigner pays a return call on an official, the 
occasions for blundering, and thus rendering himself 
ridiculous or offending his host, are perhaps even more 
numerous. He must not go on foot, however near the 
house may be. He must remain in his cart while his own 
servant takes in his card, and he must not alight till 
invited. On entering, and at each successive gate or 
door, he must stand aside and urge his host to enter first, 
and must not be too easily persuaded to proceed. He 
will be given the seat of honour, but must be unwilling to 
take it, and only do so after some protesting. He must 
not actually sit down until the same moment as his host, 
and if a second visitor arrives he must rise at once and 
offer him his seat. On a first visit he must not stay too 
long, nor yet may he be over-hurried in his departure. 
There are many other everyday rules which are only 
slowly mastered, but which gradually become second 
nature when associating with officials. 

For anyone who is going to live permanently in a city, 
hoping to make his presence and influence felt, it is 
obviously desirable to come into contact with all classes 
of the people. The lower grades are much the most 
easy of access, and it is possible to live and work for 



JAPAN REFERENCE 
LIBRARY 

NEW YORK 



26 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

years in their midst and know very little indeed of the 
officials, the literati, the gentry, or the influential mer- 
chants. Many causes contribute to producing this gulf 
between them and the foreigner, besides that prominent 
one already indicated — his neglect of the " rules of 
propriety." One is the language, for it takes years to 
become quite at home in it, and few ever speak it without 
a marked foreign accent. 

At the outset, a doctor has the great advantage that 
he may have an opportunity of relieving bodily suffering, 
and thus gain an entrance. The maintenance of a 
friendly footing afterwards, and the extension of acquaint- 
ance among these classes, will depend largely on the extent 
to which he himself cultivates these same " rules of 
propriety." Our relation with the officials was a most 
vital matter thirty years ago, as the common people were 
greatly influenced by the attitude taken up by them 
regarding us and our work. We were fortunate in having 
a call from an official of some rank within a month after 
our arrival in Moukden. He was suffering from disease 
of the lower jaw, several of his teeth had fallen out, he 
could hardly speak, and extreme pain was wearing him 
out. The diseased bone was easily removed, giving 
immediate relief, the cure was perfect, and he remained 
our staunch friend till his death a few years later. From 
him I received hints and suggestions as to etiquette which 
were invaluable. He was the means of introducing 
many official patients from the Governor of Moukden 
downwards, and others came without introduction. The 
Governor was specially grateful for a bit of practical help. 
He had lost two front teeth, and this disfiguration made 
it awkward for him to appear before the Emperor, 
and therefore might hinder official promotion. Know- 
ing something of dentistry, I was able to provide him 
with false teeth, which meant a good deal to his 
career. 

One of my most intimate official friends was a Tao-tai 



BRIDGING THE GULF 27 

named Gao, who had been for some years at the Chinese 
Legation in Paris, and been through the siege there in 
1870. He had also visited England and America, and 
was a most enlightened man, thoroughly in sympathy 
with Western ideas and with Christianity. I was early 
installed as his family physician, and had constant inter- 
course with his whole household for many years. Through 
him also we came in touch with other mandarins, and 
as years went on I had an extensive circle of official 
acquaintances. This was a great help to our work, 
giving us an assured position, and going far to prevent 
the riots and other troubles which were so liable to 
occur. 

It was not long before we began to have soldiers also 
among our patients. Soon after our first hospital was 
opened, a small band of robbers was creating much 
trouble among some villages and scattered homesteads 
in the far east. A company of sixteen soldiers was sent 
to put them down, but weeks passed before they could 
even be found. At last some villagers gave information 
as to where the gang was lodged. When night came the 
soldiers surrounded the house, but the robbers escaped 
all but one, who took his stand behind the door. This 
was small, admitting only one at a time. A fine young 
fellow volunteered to lead the attack, and the door was 
soon forced, but the robber was well armed and made a 
desperate resistance. The soldier wounded him severely 
on the head with his sword, while the brigand lodged the 
contents of his pistol in the intruder's thigh. Other 
soldiers pressed in and overcame the ruffian, who was 
bound, taken to Moukden, and executed. 

A fortnight later a military officer called on me, 
presenting the card of the Moukden Tao-tai (circuit 
judge) and asking if I would do His Excellency the 
favour of treating the wounded soldier. When the man 
was admitted, his health had suffered considerably from 
the knocking about he had sustained in travelling, the in- 



28 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

jured leg was much swollen, and suppuration had set in. 
After two days' rest, suitable food, and proper dressing 
of the wound, the inflammation had somewhat subsided, 
and the situation of the bullet was detected. The Tao-tai 
sent an officer to witness the extraction, an operation 
which native doctors could never attempt. The bullet 
was removed without difficulty, and the officer took it 
away to present to his General, Tso Pao Kuei. The 
patient left us after a month, able to walk as well as 
ever. 

This case was of great use in making our work known 
and disarming suspicion, especially among soldiers and 
military mandarins. General Tso, the Commander of 
the Chinese forces in Manchuria, became our good friend 
and remained so ever afterwards, being many a time of 
great help to us. His soldiers were constantly sent to the 
dispensary and hospital for treatment, and when wounded 
were sometimes carried hundreds of miles to be put under 
our care. There was at that time, and for a good many 
years later, absolutely no attempt to provide medical or 
surgical help for the army. It depended on the kind- 
heartedness of the General whether anything at all was 
done for the sick and wounded, but with the best heart 
in the world it was impossible to provide efficient aid. 
General Tso did all in his power in this direction. Though 
a strict disciplinarian and a terror to law-breakers, he 
was beloved and trusted by his men and respected by 
all classes. He established and maintained a Foundling 
Hospital, kept a soup-kitchen open for the poor for a 
couple of months every winter, and, while remaining 
a strict Mohammedan, subscribed liberally to our 
hospital. 

Though we did our best from the first to promote 
friendly feeling, we sometimes unintentionally brought 
trouble on ourselves. In the second year of our residence 
in Moukden, a party of five men, including some visitors 
from Newchwang, started on horseback, escorted by a 



BRIDGING THE GULF 29 

Chinese gentleman, to visit some points of interest. 
Outside the west of the city, near a Lama temple, was a 
large open space where cavalry were in the habit of 
exercising. Here once a year was held a review of 
Manchu and Mongol horsemen, which our guide said 
was well worth seeing. These were not disciplined troops, 
but principally wild Mongols from the desert, with some 
Manchus. They wore no uniform, each being dressed 
as he pleased, with sheepskin coat and turban, or fierce - 
looking hairy cap. All were fearless riders, and many 
carried long spears. Their mounts were rough little 
ponies, full of spirit, and as unaccustomed as their riders 
to city crowds. 

Unfortunately, as we approached, one of our horses, 
excited with the shouting and galloping, became un- 
manageable and rushed forward with its unwilling rider 
among the other horses. Immediately he was surrounded 
and cut off from the rest of the party by a noisy crowd of 
angry Mongols, who kept riding closely round him, 
whooping and shouting, and frightening still more his 
excited pony. The rider, finding himself jostled nearly 
out of his seat, struck the nearest horse with his riding- 
whip. In return the soldier made a fierce blow at the 
foreigner's head with a heavy stick. Seeing this, one of 
the other visitors spurred his pony straight at the Mongol 
brave, and knocked him and his beast into a large pool of 
mud and water. Meantime on the outskirts of the crowd 
we had succeeded in finding some officers, and were 
apologizing and explaining to them about the restive 
horse. With their help we gathered our little party 
together as quickly as possible and rode away, just in 
time to avoid serious consequences. 

In spite of all our efforts to avoid anything which might 
be disliked by the people, and in spite of the friendship 
of many officials, civil and military, there was for long 
an undercurrent of ill-will in many quarters, and a 
readiness to take offence. Had we made no efforts at 



30 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

conciliation, and had we had enemies instead of friends in 
high places, it is difficult to say how that undercurrent 
might have affected us and how many years might have 
passed before our work in Moukden would have been 
firmly established. 



MEDICAL PRACTICE AMONG THE CHINESE 

" And happed to hear the land's practitioners, 
Steeped in conceit sublimed by ignorance, 
Prattle fantastically on disease, 
Its cause and cure." 

"Epistle of Karshish" — R. Browning. 

THE beginnings of medicine in China are in the dim 
distance of 4500 years ago, and its chief medical 
classic dates from the third or fourth century B.C. This 
is a book on medicine and physical science, treating of 
the human body, the two principles " yin " and " yang," 
the five elements, the circulation of the five elemental 
vapours in the body, diseases, acu-puncture, and so on. 
Other books were added to this later, but the theories 
as to the cause and cure of disease have been stereotyped 
for many centuries. 

As long as the five elements of which the body is 
composed — metal, wood, water, fire, and earth — are in 
equilibrium, health is enjoyed ; when they are out of 
proportion disease ensues, and the object of treatment is 
to bring them back to their normal relations. Medicines 
are classified according to the five colours and the five 
tastes, corresponding to the five elements and the five 
organs of the body. All treatment must accord with 
the various cycles of five, of which the following are a 
few : 

Elements — 

metal wood water fire earth 

31 



32 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Colours — 

white green black red yellow 

Tastes — 

acrid sour salt bitter sweet 

Organs of the body — 

lungs liver kidneys heart + u 

Productions of the organs — 

breath ligaments bones blood muscles 

Senses — 

nose eyes ears tongue mouth 

Directions — 

west east north south middle 

For instance, if the heart is feeble there must be too 
little fire ; fire is produced by wood, which corresponds 
with the liver ; therefore to strengthen the heart the liver 
must be toned up, the medicine should be sour and of 
a greenish hue, and anything bitter must be strictly 
avoided. If, on the other hand, the lungs are affected, 
then earth is needed to produce the lacking metal 
element, the spleen and stomach must be stimulated, 
the medicine should be yellow and sweet, and everything 
acrid must be avoided. There are many other points too 
intricate to describe in detail. 

Disease is diagnosed by the pulses, of which there are 
also five varieties. The left indicates the condition of the 
heart, liver, and kidneys ; the right that of the lungs and 
stomach, and also of the " gate of life." When a patient 
enters the consulting-room for the first time, he does not 
expect to be asked questions. Silently he stretches out 
one hand after the other, and the doctor, by placing three 
fingers on each pulse in turn, is supposed to recognize 
the nature and seat of the disease. In the early days a 
friendly native doctor used to bring patients to see how 



MEDICAL PRACTICE AMONG CHINESE 33 

I would examine and treat them. One day a man 
appeared who, on account of an abnormality, had no 
pulse in the usual situation. I asked my Chinese friend 
to examine this case by his method, but finding no pulse 
at all he was completely nonplussed, and was greatly 
interested and astonished when I explained. 

The ancients in China had some knowledge of surgery. 
There is evidence that they knew of the circulation of 
the blood, that they dissected the human frame as far 
back as 600 B.C., and that they were using anaesthetics 
and performing abdominal operations in the third 
century a.d. Unfortunately this knowledge seems to 
have become extinct. Their ideas now as to the position 
and functions of the various internal organs are most vague 
and inaccurate, and modern Chinese doctors own that 
they know nothing at all of surgery. They cannot tie an 
artery, amputate a finger or perform the simplest operation. 

The only mode of treatment in vogue which might 
be called surgical is acu-puncture, practised for all kinds 
of ailments. The needles are of nine forms, and are 
frequently used red-hot, and occasionally left in the body 
for days. Having no practical knowledge of anatomy, the 
practitioners often pass needles into large blood-vessels 
and important organs, and immediate death has some- 
times resulted. A little child was carried to the dis- 
pensary presenting a pitiable spectacle. The doctor 
had told the parents that there was an excess of fire in 
its body, to let out which he must use cold needles, so 
he had pierced the abdomen deeply in several places. 
The poor little sufferer died shortly afterwards. For 
cholera the needling is in the arms. For some children's 
diseases, especially convulsions, the needles are inserted 
under the nails. For eye diseases they are often driven 
into the back between the shoulders to a depth of several 
inches. Patients have come to us with large surfaces on 
their backs sloughing by reason of excessive treatment of 
this kind with instruments none too clean. 



34 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Another very injurious method of treatment is the 
application of a black resinous plaster, universally used 
for all kinds of aches and pains, bruises and swellings, 
wounds and sores. A small pimple or abscess appears, 
at once the plaster is applied and free discharge prevented. 
The result is often serious disease. Indeed, in almost 
every case of bone or joint disease which comes to us, 
the condition is aggravated, if not caused, by this deadly 
plaster ; and yet the Chinese have unbounded faith in it. 
A boy of nine was brought in a basket, and when the 
plaster completely covering one leg was removed, the smell 
could almost be heard, as the Chinese say. A large part 
of the tibia was quite bare and projecting. His mother 
said that no medicine had been applied except this 
plaster, which had first been used about fifteen months 
before, when there was only a small sore place, caused by 
a fall. He was now much emaciated, with weak rapid 
pulse and bad cough, and death seemed not far off. 
We took him into the hospital, treated the leg rationally, 
and after a few days removed the diseased bone entirely. 
In a month he was walking about, rosy, strong, and merry, 
and with great enthusiasm learning to read and sing 
hymns. Such cases are very common in every hospital. 

When there is an open sore in any part of the body, 
the native doctors often put in medicine having caustic 
properties, causing much mischief. For instance, a young 
man suffered from disease of the cervical glands, a 
common complaint here. An abscess having formed and 
burst, caustic medicine was put in. He came to us in 
great pain, and I found that the caustic had burrowed 
its way under the muscles, setting up severe inflammation 
of the deeper structures. By cutting down and removing 
the irritating substance, relief was given. 

Any man who wishes may practise medicine, and as 
even the most famous and learned doctors know nothing of 
the structure of joints, patients often suffer much at their 
hands. A little boy twisted his leg one day when playing. 



MEDICAL PRACTICE AMONG CHINESE 35 

He complained of pain, but continued to limp about. 
As there was no doctor in the village, one old woman 
after another was consulted, but in spite of their rubbing 
and kneading the pain continued, so he was taken to a 
well-known doctor in Moukden. With great violence this 
man pulled and twisted the limb till the boy was screaming 
with agony. Until this operation he could walk, but 
now he could not even stand, and the limb was bent and 
shorter than the other. Three weeks later he came to us. 
The hip was much swollen, and so painful that exami- 
nation was impossible without chloroform. The joint 
was found to be dislocated, doubtless as the result of the 
heroic treatment to which it had been subjected. It 
was easily reduced, and the little fellow was soon all 
right. 

After the removal of a piece of bone one day from a 
severe gunshot wound, to my surprise a quantity of pure 
mercury poured out. 

" That is the melted bullet ! " said the patient. 

Chinese doctors make no attempt to extract bullets, 
but often put mercury into the wound, which they say 
will melt the lead, and the patient is easily made to 
believe that it has done so. 

With so much that is injurious, the Chinese have also 
some harmless and helpful methods and some useful 
drugs. They use massage constantly, not certainly in a 
scientific way, but intelligently and with much benefit. 
They also realize, indeed overestimate, the value of 
counter -irritation, and there is a somewhat peculiar 
method in common use. The skin is pinched up and 
twisted repeatedly and sharply between the fingers or 
knuckles, or with two bits of wood or copper coins, until 
it becomes livid. Cupping is also a common method. 
People are constantly seen with round livid patches on 
the forehead. 

" What is wrong ? " one asks at first in alarm. But 
the inevitable surprised answer is : 



36 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

" I had a headache, that is all." 

Blisters of many kinds are also freely used, and the 
actual cautery. The value of perspiration in illness is 
universally appreciated, and without calling in a doctor 
medicines are given to induce it. 

Among their useful medicines are such as rhubarb, 
gentian, nux vomica, calomel, Epsom-salt, and so on. 
Little, however, is understood of the action of drugs on 
the system. 

Vaccination is of comparatively modern date. Until 
recently a method commonly employed was to blow the 
lymph up the nostril, but this was very uncertain in its 
action, and now the foreign practice is usually followed. 

The most valuable asset for the healing of disease 
which the Chinese possess is their wonderful recuperative 
power. Wounds heal by first intention under conditions 
which would be deadly to a European. A woman has her 
breast removed for cancer, and is put in a low smoky room 
16 ft. by 10 ft., along with her attendant, three other 
patients, and a baby, one of the patients having a foul- 
smelling abscess ; yet she makes a speedy and perfect 
recovery. In our hospitals we constantly have cases of 
remarkable recovery from wounds and diseases of bones 
and joints, which in the West would certainly prove 
fatal without amputation. 

The power of resistance to nervous shock is also 
noticeable. A man is mending a gun in a blacksmith's 
shop, not knowing that it is loaded. It explodes, blowing 
off his hand. He calmly throws a handkerchief over the 
stump, and holding the wrist tightly with the other hand, 
walks three miles across the city to the hospital. 

There are many strange and superstitious ideas about 
disease and its causes, which had their origin long before 
Buddhism or Taoism, and will doubtless linger in the 
country districts long after these religions have passed 
away. Unlucky days are blamed for many diseases, and 



MEDICAL PRACTICE AMONG CHINESE 37 

lucky days are chosen for taking medicine. A hair is 
often twined round a limb above a sore, " to keep the 
poison from going up to the heart." A man, explaining 
the origin of his sickness, bowed his head and said, evi- 
dently with the deepest repentance : 

" I have offended the Tiger-god. I was up among the 
hills and ate tiger's flesh, and this is the punishment." 

A fine-looking old man brought his daughter to the 
dispensary in the last stages of pulmonary consumption, 
so weak that she could hardly stagger from her sedan- 
chair to the consulting-room. When the nature of the 
disease was explained, the father politely but firmly 
replied : 

" You are mistaken. There is no disease of the lungs. 
I too am a physician of no mean reputation, but I am not a 
surgeon. It is because I have heard of your skill with the 
knife that I have brought my daughter to you, that you 
may remove the evil thing that is preying on her life." 
Then he explained that, many months before, a tortoise 
had begun to grow in her abdomen, and had increased 
rapidly till it was now the size of a hand. It lived on the 
patient's blood, which it drank three times a day. 

" See ! " he said, " you can feel its head moving from 
side to side under your hand, just below the heart. Can 
you not take it out ? " 

Poor old father ! the " tortoise " was but the fluttering 
aorta, whose beat was easily felt in the patient's thin, 
emaciated body. 

Mothers are often credited by foreigners with heart- 
lessness for throwing out the bodies of their little ones 
to be devoured by the wild dogs, but there is a reason. 
The untimely death of a young child is caused by the evil 
dog-spirit, which can only be appeased by the yielding 
of the little body to actual dogs. If this is not done, the 
same ghostly malevolence will cause the death of child 
after child in that family, so in love to the living the 
mother sacrifices the dead. 



38 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

The belief in evil spirits is universal, and all forms of 
disease are attributed more or less to their agency. 
Besides the doctors who follow the ancient books, there 
are therefore sorcerers, witch-doctors, and devil-charmers, 
who are consulted even by men of rank and intelligence. 
Their prescriptions are of a varied nature. A paper with 
mystic characters may be burned, its ashes mixed with 
water, and the concoction drunk by the patient ; or the 
characters may be worn as a charm. Sometimes a cup 
of water is covered with a cloth and shaken steadily 
until bubbles begin to appear ; then it must be drunk 
quickly by the patient, while mysterious words are 
solemnly pronounced. 

Madness, epilepsy, and extreme hysteria are usually 
regarded as being caused by devil-possession. Without 
any inquiry into the origin of the condition, most cruel 
methods are resorted to in order to drive out the evil 
spirit, such as forcing the patient to stand barefoot on 
red-hot iron, and there is always severe and merciless 
beating. Fortunately for the poor sufferers, life cannot 
long sustain such extreme torture, and death brings 
release. A girl of seventeen was brought to me, evidently 
a case of extreme hysteria. The witch-doctors, after 
trying several cruel methods without success, had finally 
thrust a red-hot poker down her throat to expel the 
demon. The girl died shortly afterwards. The electric 
battery has come to be recognized by the Chinese as the 
foreign cure for devil -possession, and many an " evil 
spirit " has been thus banished. 

Medical science in China being in such a chaotic con- 
dition, and the methods of treatment so fantastic and 
inconsistent, it is not to be expected that patients should 
have great confidence in their doctors. The idea of a 
" family physician " is unknown. When the medicine 
of one doctor fails to cure within a few days, his prescrip- 
tion is set aside as unsuitable or disapproved by the gods, 
and another man is called in without the first being even 



MEDICAL PRACTICE AMONG CHINESE 39 

informed. It is quite common to use the medicines of 
several doctors at once, in the hope that if one does not 
cure, another may. For this reason, visiting patients in 
their homes is most unsatisfactory. 

There was a well-to-do merchant whose life was saved 
in the hospital in the early days, and who became an 
intelligent Christian. Some years later he had a severe 
attack of pleurisy, and wanted to come to the hospital, 
but the weather was extremely cold, little above zero, 
so it was thought wiser to leave him in his own comfortable 
home. Minute instructions were given, and one of my 
assistants visited him several times daily. The progress 
of his malady was most incomprehensible. One day he 
would improve so rapidly that we thought him out of 
danger ; next day he would be worse than ever. Had I 
known then what was found out afterwards, I would have 
risked his removal to the hospital as his only chance. 
All the time that we were doing our utmost for him, his 
wife, who secretly hated Christianity and held to her old 
religion, was consulting native doctors. The alternations 
of medicines accounted for the strange, rapid improve- 
ments and sudden relapses. I had sent a man to sit up 
with him and administer the medicines, and we were 
hoping that the worst was over. But my man was sent 
home, the wife insisting that she would do all that was 
wanted. Next morning he was worse. In the evening I 
found her administering the contents of our medicine 
bottles, but they only contained water. It was now too 
late to save him. 

Patients are quite unaccustomed to obey a doctor's 
instructions to the letter. Melons and cakes are eaten 
against orders ; people grow tired of lying down when 
told, and are found walking about. A woman came to 
us with hip-joint disease, and after operation her leg was 
put in splints. She at once began to complain of the 
discomfort and cried herself ill, so that the splints had to 
be removed. She promised to lie quite flat and straight, 



40 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

but in a few hours was found sitting up with her leg bent. 
Some days later she was seized with dysentery, which 
would not yield to treatment. A small piece of the rind of 
a coarse kind of melon was found among her bed-clothes. 
A friend had smuggled it in, and she had eaten it entire, 
except this scrap. She was once more improving, when 
she began to cry to go home. She was tired of our strict- 
ness in diet, and saw no connection between food and her 
disease. 

" I am going home to eat as much fruit as I like," she 
said. " If I don't die, I'll come back to have my leg 
cured. If I am fated to die, I die, and there's an end 
of it." She went home and died in four days. 

On the other hand, a readiness to trust us blindly often 
causes difficulty, as when a man swallows the prescrip- 
tion along with the pill, or crunches a clinical thermometer 
to powder before he can be stopped. A man was brought 
to us who had suddenly lost the power of speech seven 
months before. He had been under one native doctor 
after another all that time, with no improvement. It 
was evidently a case of hysterical aphasia, so I did my best 
to secure his confidence, and then gave him some powders 
which were to last him four days. He, however, took the 
whole packet at once, which caused severe vomiting, but 
immediately his speech returned. In a day or two he went 
home, proclaiming the magic cure. Some days later a 
dozen sick people arrived from his village, insisting on 
being cured instantaneously of all their old chronic 
ailments. We had a similar experience with a cataract 
case, who led from his village and neighbourhood a long 
string of blind people, mostly incurable, some with no 
eyes left, all pleading on their knees to have their sight 
restored as his had been. 

There is a general willingness to accept anyone as a 
doctor who professes to be able to cure. As soon as the 
suspicions of all things foreign began to pass away, 
people were only too ready to buy foreign drugs from 



MEDICAL PRACTICE AMONG CHINESE 41 

any quack who happened to sell them. A man acts as 
coolie in the hospital for some months, sees how wounds 
are dressed, and learns the names of the commonest 
medicines. He leaves us, invests a few dollars in castor- 
oil, santonine, boracic, and some lint, goes off to a village, 
and sets up as having learned medicine in the foreign 
hospital. A lad is brought to us in a dying condition, 
his leg is amputated, his life saved, and by and by he 
also sets up in the same way. This is not necessarily 
rascality nor hypocrisy, for they do not understand how 
little they know, nor how much there is to know. 

In Tieling there was a man who had never been near a 
hospital, nor were his drugs really foreign, but he found 
he could get a readier sale if he called them so. To 
convince people of his connection with the foreigner, he 
quietly went to the Tieling Church a few times and 
learned one of the hymns. Then day by day he set up 
his little tent on the street, sang the hymn which he 
did not understand, and displayed his medicines, and 
guaranteed them as the genuine foreign article. 



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VI 

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, DISEASE, AND FLOOD 
" A nation's wealth is in the health of its people." 

IT is probably not generally realized that Rome and 
Chicago are about the same distance from the 
Equator. They and Moukden alike are about 42° N. 
The climate of Manchuria is distinctly continental, with 
extremes of heat and cold. It is not affected by ocean 
influences, and its wide level plain has no shelter from 
the cold blasts which in winter sweep over Siberia and 
Mongolia. The absence of forests and larger vegetation 
also influences the temperature and humidity. 

The summer is hot, but rarely in Moukden is it above 
95° Fahr., and for a part of the season the dryness is 
absolute, so that the sensations do not indicate the real 
temperature. During the wet season the heat is moist 
and oppressive ; the summer rains are torrential, several 
inches often falling in a few hours. Spring and autumn 
are short, winter lasting about five months, for four of 
which every stream and pond is firmly icebound. In 
Moukden the minimum in an ordinary winter is 20° Fahr. 
below zero, though 33° have been registered, with occa- 
sional days when it does not rise above zero at all. The 
excessive dryness, however, the prevailing bright sun- 
shine, and the clear calm bracing atmosphere, prevent 
this extreme from being realized. There is usually a 
good deal of snow, but not enough to allow sledging 
within many miles of this city. In spring the changes of 



44 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

temperature are great and sudden, high dry south winds 
prevail, and there are also quiet wet days which remind 
one of the homeland. 

Manchuria has on the whole a desirable climate, 
healthy for Europeans, if they are careful in their eating 
and moderate in their drinking, if they are well housed 
and protected against the cold, and if they take proper 
precautions in the heat ; for each extreme renders them 
more susceptible to the other. Its most trying feature 
is its extreme dryness, which, especially in winter, stimu- 
lates the nervous system, encouraging men to overwork 
without knowing it, and tending to produce insomnia, 
hysteria, and other diseases of nervous origin. 

When we examine the conditions of life among the 
inhabitants of Manchuria, we are at first surprised that 
the race should be physically so well developed, strong, 
and healthy as we find it to be. 

The houses of the common people defy all our laws of 
sanitation. The floors are either of earth or brick, and 
are on much the same level as the ground outside, or even 
lower. In the city they may be several feet below the 
street. The dwellings are planned with a view to economy 
of fuel. Half of the room is occupied by a brick platform, 
the kang, covered with matting, whereon people sit cross- 
legged, and eat and work in the daytime, and spread their 
bedding at night. At one end of the room a small kitchen 
is partly partitioned off ; here is the millet-stalk furnace, 
under a large pot, and the flues of the chimney pass back 
and forward inside the kang, raising its surface to a com- 
fortable heat which lasts for hours. If liberally fired 
twice or thrice a day when cooking the food, the warmth 
will linger in the bricks all the rest of the time ; but the 
smoke of the millet-stalk fuel fills the apartment, making 
the eyes water and the throat smart. 

No attempt is made at keeping the whole place clean, 
nor at sweeping behind cupboards or in corners ; it is 
considered sufficient if the kang is clean, and a great 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 45 

many houses are unspeakably dirty. The windows have 
paper instead of glass, allowing very insufficient light to 
penetrate. Few rooms have proper ceilings, and the 
dust and cobwebs of years hang about the roof -beams. 
The number of people living, eating, and sleeping in one 
room is excessive, and all these expectorate freely on the 
floor. 

The surroundings of the houses are also dirty and 
insanitary. Stagnant water is allowed to accumulate 
and every kind of garbage and filth, dogs and pigs being 
the only scavengers. Until 1905 there was no attempt 
at sanitation, and there is still no drainage of any kind 
except some open ditches, which are roaring torrents or 
foul-smelling holes, according to the weather. In the city 
there are large stagnant ponds, the natural drainage of 
the rainwater from the streets, and in these the people 
clean their vegetables and wash their clothes. 

Personal cleanliness is expensive. Many have to buy 
their water from water-carts or pay to have it carried 
from the nearest well, as women cannot draw water unless 
the well is at their door. For six months of the year the 
houses are too cold, and all the year they are too crowded 
for baths to be easy or even possible. There are public 
baths in the city for men who choose to pay, but none for 
women. The wadded winter clothing is made in autumn 
and worn without change until spring, though the better 
off and the more particular wear inner garments which 
are washed regularly. 

Mothers have no idea of the proper rearing of children. 
They are usually nursed to the age of three or four, and 
the use of cow's or goat's milk is unknown. When the 
mother cannot feed her child, she gives it rice, flour, or 
millet slops. During the long winter the little children 
of the poorer classes are kept indoors owing to in- 
sufficiency of warm clothing, and huddle together on the 
hang with neither fresh air nor exercise. 

Under such circumstances we are accustomed to think 



46 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

that no people could thrive. We would expect rickets 
among the children, but it is non-existent ; we would 
expect diphtheria, typhus, and typhoid to be endemic, 
but they only appear in occasional infrequent epidemics. 
We would expect to find a stunted development, whereas 
the people are notably big and strong. There are certain 
conditions which counteract the influences adverse to 
health. 

The houses are never overheated, and constant ven- 
tilation is afforded through the chinks in the ill-fitting 
doors and paper windows, and by the opening of the 
doors direct from outside to the living-rooms. In summer, 
windows and doors stand wide open all day, and for seven 
months of the year the children practically live out of 
doors except at night, adults also to a much lesser degree. 
The people five " the simple life," rise early, work hard, 
use no stimulants, do not hurry, and do not worry. 

The general result is a strong body, the digestion of a 
horse, healthy tissues, and a wonderful power of resisting 
disease. Were the characteristics supported by a proper 
attention to infants during their first few days of life, 
precautions against tuberculosis, scientific treatment of 
disease, and general attention to hygiene and sanitation, 
there would be nowhere a stronger or more healthy people 
than the inhabitants of Manchuria. 

But these matters are woefully neglected. Thousands 
of infants die of convulsions within a week of birth, owing 
to ignorance and dirt ; many more are blind for life ; 
others have their health permanently undermined. 

Tuberculosis is the scourge of Manchuria. The idea of 
the communicability of the disease has not yet entered 
the Chinese mind, and owing to the general practice of 
expectoration, the atmosphere of many a crowded room 
must be loaded with bacilli. Phthisis is very common, 
especially among students and among young women of 
all classes. Girls are often married at fifteen or sixteen, 
and then their duty is to stay indoors doing the work of 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 47 

the household, cooking, and sewing, and many a young 
wife dies of " decline " within a few years. In our 
surgical wards, too, we have a large proportion of tuber- 
cular cases. 

Eye diseases of every kind are very prevalent, especially 
trachoma with all its complications. The principal irri- 
tating causes are the smoke of the hangs, particularly 
where, as in some country places, they are fired with 
wood ; and the frequent dust storms. The sand and 
impalpable dust which then load the atmosphere are 
driven by the strong wind, filling the eyes, ears, and 
nostrils of any who are out of doors, and penetrating 
into every corner of even the best built house. Smallpox 
among children is responsible too for a great deal of eye 
disease and blindness. Eye ailments are almost invariably 
neglected in their early stages, and diseased eyes are 
constantly wiped with dirty cloths, so that many come 
to us in extreme conditions such as are never seen at 
home. 

Dyspepsia of all kinds is common, as millet, the staple 
food, is hard to digest, and is commonly gulped down in 
great quantities, often imperfectly cooked, without any 
attempt at mastication. Raw and under-cooked vege- 
tables are also often eaten. During the hot season there 
is a great deal of dysentery, diarrhoea, and other diseases 
of the alimentary system. The uninstructed do not 
associate diet with disease. Many a death is caused by 
the practice of eating the greater part of the rind of the 
melons and cucumbers which are so abundant and cheap 
in summer. 

Infectious diseases, such as chicken-pox, measles, 
scarlet fever, and smallpox, are always more or less among 
us, for no precautions are taken against their spread, 
The last is regarded as an ordinary children's ailment, 
and is usually of a mild type. Yet a great many die of it, 
and many more are badly disfigured by pock-marks, or 
have other sad traces of the ravages of the disease. 



48 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Several terrible epidemics of cholera have swept 
through the country during the past thirty years. The 
worst was during my first summer in Moukden. Native 
treatment was worse than useless, consisting largely in 
piercing with needles. The disease was of a most malig- 
nant type, and the mortality was terrible, 20,000 coffins 
being carried out through the city gates during August 
and September. We were kept busy from morning till 
night trying to save lives. We had no hospital, nor even 
a shed to shelter patients, but day by day crowds of 
people came to us or were carried on shutters and 
stretchers, and I did what I could for them in the open 
air. Another serious cholera epidemic followed the 
Chino -Japanese war, and there have been several less 
severe visitations. 

In the summer of 1888 a calamity overtook us quite as 
serious as an epidemic, and more far-reaching in its 
results. It was an exceptionally hot and dry season in 
Moukden. All June and July the ground was parched 
and dry, and there were processions to plead for rain. 
In the mountains in the far east where our rivers rise 
there was, on the other hand, an unusual amount of rain, 
so that the River Hun, a couple of miles east and south of 
the city, was flowing full and strong. Then our rains 
came, incessant heavy downpour for a fortnight. Dark 
rumours began to be circulated of floods among the hills, 
and men shook their heads as the water steadily rose in the 
river. On 13 August the rain ceased, but late that night 
the water in the Small River in front of our hospital 
and houses began slowly to rise, amid much excitement. 
Early in the morning I heard shouts outside : " The 
water is rising ! The water is rising ! " 

I went out, to find our terrace or " Bund " crowded, 
and the road between it and the river completely under 
water. Suddenly in the quiet flow, rippling in the bright 
sunshine, there was a swirl and a tumultuous rush of 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 4§ 

waves. When it subsided, the water had risen a foot. 
Another onrush of waves — another rapid rise — again — 
again — till it was lapping the edge of our terrace. It had 
risen 15 feet in about three hours. 

What was the meaning of it all ? 

During the night a large volume of water from the 
hills had come down the Hun valley, carrying destruction 
with it. Village after village was swept away, and in 
some none were left to tell the tale. From one village 
the only survivor was a woman who was carried down ten 
miles supported by a piece of wood under her arms. 
There was a small hamlet some fifteen miles above 
Moukden, where the water rose so rapidly and with 
such terrible force that there was no time to escape to 
higher ground. House after house collapsed, and the 
inmates gathered in the darkness on the fallen walls, 
with little hope of life. All that night and the next day 
they clung to the ruins, the water reaching the waist 
and armpits, and no food being obtainable. When at 
last in the evening the flood began to subside, eleven of 
them were missing. 

Meantime the torrent had swept onward until, at a 
point about two miles east of Moukden, where stood a 
large wood yard and a village, the banks of the Hun 
gave way. A great mass of water left the course of the 
river, and wave after wave poured down in the direc- 
tion of the Small River, submerging miles of low-lying 
closely populated country. 

The quiet slow water before our gates was now a deep 
foaming torrent, beyond which stretched as far as the eye 
could reach an angry sea, with clumps of trees showing 
here and there, and men and women clinging to the 
branches. Past us were swept logs from the wood yard, 
bundles of millet-stalk, trees, tables, carts. Then came 
horses, mules, cows, dogs, some already drowned, others 
struggling for life ; then human beings clinging to 
floating pieces of wreckage, or huddled together on hastily 



50 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

constructed rafts. The water was still rising. Our 
terrace was transformed into an island, and quite cut off 
from the hospital. At our gate the water was several 
feet deep, all our compounds were submerged, and water 
was under and in the houses. The eastern wall of our 
compound was swept away, part of our gatehouse 
collapsed, and we saw a sedan-chair and other of our 
possessions float into the swift current. At last, about 
4 p.m., we found to our relief that the water had ceased 
to rise. It was now 20 feet above its usual level. 

The violence of the current was such that it was im- 
possible to render much assistance to those who were 
drowning, but we did what we could and some lives were 
saved. A ring attached to a rope was whirled through 
the air to the help of more than one straggler, and in 
one instance a rough raft with half a dozen people was by 
this means guided safely in at the hospital gate. Towards 
evening, as the water was slowly falling, a man was seen 
struggling at some distance away. Without a moment's 
hesitation one of our Christian elders, a sturdy old man 
from the coast of Shantung and a good swimmer, threw 
off his coat, jumped in, and struck out into the stream, 
followed immediately by his son. They dived and swam, 
but could make but slow progress, and the drowning 
man had disappeared long before they reached the spot. 
After a fruitless search they returned, evidently un^ 
conscious that they had done anything worthy of praise. 

It is hardly possible to estimate the loss of life caused 
by this flood. Besides the submerged villages, a large 
part of the suburbs of Moukden was under water, and 
several hundred were drowned. The loss of property 
was still greater, many families being reduced from easy 
comfort to extreme poverty. All over Manchuria the 
rivers were flooded, so that the distress was widespread. 

The immediate effects of the flood, however, were not 
the most disastrous ; only when the severe cold of winter 
set in was the misery of the great mass of the people 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 51 

realized. The harvest was destroyed in extensive regions 
of rich grain country, and famine followed with its 
attendant fever. This condition of things was made 
known in the British newspapers, a Mansion House Fund 
was opened, supplies of grain were soon forwarded, and 
the missionaries worked hard for months at famine- 
relief. The hospitals too had their hands full, treating 
fevers and other ailments resulting from insufficient and 
unsuitable food. The most trying time was the following 
summer, before the harvest was ready. General Tso, 
willing as always to help the needy, offered the temporary 
use of a large barracks for famine cases. Several hundred 
were taken in who would have died on the streets, and 
many thousands were provided with food, medicine, and 
other help. Though the harvest was exceptionally good, 
much distress continued throughout the next winter, 
and it was years before the country recovered its pros- 
perity. This famine-relief work had one good effect, the 
banishing from many districts of the suspicions and 
prejudices against foreigners. 

Another and still more prolonged result of the flood 
was the development of malaria. Before this it was un- 
common, twenty-eight cases being recorded in our 
dispensary from 1883 to 1888, several of which were 
from other parts of the country. During the floods the 
subsoil was saturated, and large ponds and marshes were 
left which became stagnant, offering a suitable breeding- 
place for mosquitoes. In the next spring an increase in 
malarial cases was first noticed, and the numbers rose 
rapidly in summer and during the following years, until 
we treated as many as 4000 in a year. Then some dry 
summers caused the drying up of many ponds, and 
stretches of marshland were drained and cultivated. 
Our numbers fell steadily, and now we have few cases of 
malaria from the neighbourhood of Moukden. 



VII 



EAST AND WEST : MISTAKEN JUDGMENTS 

" There is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, 
When two strong men stand face to face, tho' they come from the 
ends of the earth." 

Rudyard Kipling. 

" Man to man, the warld o'er, 

Shall brithers be, for a' that." 

Robert Burns. 

THERE is a general widespread impression that the 
Chinese are in all things the opposite of other men, 
that they never feel or think or act as other peoples would. 
Externally there is some truth in this : their customs, 
ways of speech, methods of action are often the direct 
antithesis of ours, and they look upon many things from 
quite a different point of view. In fact, the longer one 
lives in China the more he realizes this difference, and 
feels the impossibility in everyday life of getting behind 
the outer screen, as we do with intimate friends of our 
own or similar nationality. But when we come to the 
elemental passions at the foundation of our common 
human nature, then we can grip their hands as brothers, 
for we find them strong, virile, and reliable in those deeper 
feelings which are the mainspring of action. Their family 
affection, their staunch friendship, their unselfishness to 
those they love, their homely joys, their love of children, 
their kindliness to friends and neighbours, their warm- 
hearted gratitude, their fortitude in trouble, their patience 
in enduring, will compare with those of any nation. 
Their action may often take a different form from ours, 

52 



EAST AND WEST : MISTAKEN JUDGMENTS 53 

which we forthwith condemn ; but when we examine 
into causes and influences at work, we find that our hasty 
surface judgments were wholly mistaken. 

A man is taken suddenly ill when walking alone along 
a busy city street. He staggers and falls near the door 
of an evidently prosperous shop. What happens ? 
Passers-by glance at him curiously and go on ; a few stand 
and look at him, but no one touches him or meddles in 
any way ; the shopkeeper keeps studiously out of sight. 
He is unconscious and a stranger, so no one can inform 
his friends, but after a time the shopkeeper gives notice 
to the yamen which has charge of city affairs, and he is 
removed. All this time no one has so much as brought 
a cup of water, or tried to make him more comfortable. 

" Callousness ! " exclaims the foreigner. " Hard- 
hearted, selfish indifference ! " 

But what is the standpoint, what are the customs of 
centuries, the laws of the land, which lie behind this 
action or rather inaction ? The law is that those who 
house, or feed, or attend to a man who dies, thereby 
accept responsibility for him. If no friends claim him, 
they must bear the expense of burial. If friends appear, 
these may accuse the meddlers of causing the man's 
death. 

The daughter of my early friend, the Tao-tai Gao, had 
married a wealthy and prominent official. One day she 
found a poor wretch on the street, lying half dead, 
starving, and very ill. She hired men to carry him to the 
hospital, but on the way he died, and she paid for his 
funeral. The man's relatives heard of it and gathered 
round her like vultures. Great lady as she was, she had 
to pay them hundreds of taels to hush the matter up. 
Is it any wonder that dying men are left to die on the 
street ? 

One day when I had not been long in Moukden and 
was not conversant with this point in law, I saw a crowd 
on our river bank and went down. In the water was a 



54 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

drowning man, now unconscious, a case of suicide. To 
my indignation, no one was attempting to save him, 
and when I called on the hospital men to help to get him 
out of the water, they obeyed most unwillingly. When 
at last the man was, to the astonishment of the crowd, 
restored to life, I learned that, had the man died, only 
the fact of my being a foreigner would have prevented 
serious consequences to those who had touched him. 

This law is doubtless the crystallization of an old 
custom which might once be useful enough in preventing 
murder. People own that it is not a good law, but 
customs which date from the time of Abraham are not 
easily changed. 

Another charge frequently brought against the Chinese 
is that of ingratitude. Many a foreigner does things 
which he considers kind and benevolent, he acts the part 
of Lady Bountiful, or the deus ex machina, and the very 
people whom he has benefited requite him with in- 
gratitude and even dislike. The truth usually is in such 
cases that donor and recipients do not understand one 
another. They think that he is paid for all he does, or 
has some ulterior motive, so why should they be grateful ? 
Or his benefits may be bestowed in such a way as to offend 
them, and while too polite to tell him so, they cannot 
go the length of gratitude. 

When Chinese realize that they are being kindly 
treated and receiving what they have no claim to, their 
gratitude is both deep and practical. In the hospital we 
have had thirty years' experience of this ; indeed, we 
meet with far less ingratitude than do infirmaries and 
hospitals at home. All our patients pay for their food, 
except the destitute, for whom there are free beds. Be- 
sides this, many subscribe liberally. One day a man 
brought me a shilling, explaining that he was that amount 
in debt to us when he left the hospital, so before going 
back to his distant home he had hired himself out for a 
month as a farm labourer until he had saved this. 



EAST AND WEST : MISTAKEN JUDGMENTS 55 

" You cured me for nothing," he said, " I must surely 
pay for my food ! " 

Often have patients returned with the present of a 
fowl, or a basket of eggs, or even a bag of hazel nuts from 
their own trees. A Mongol boy dislocated his elbow, and 
was brought to us after a year. The joint was stiff and 
immovable, but an operation restored its usefulness, and 
father and son went joyfully home. Months later a fine 
black Mongol cow was driven into the compound with 
the compliments and thanks of the whole family. At the 
Boxer time there was a rumour that I had not escaped, 
but was in hiding in the North Tomb woods, outside the 
city. There was a horse-dealer who had been treated in 
the hospital, a regular cheat and rascal who to this day 
would rejoice in getting the better of me in a bargain. 
He bought a basketful of various kinds of food and went 
secretly to those woods, where he searched in vain for 
me for a whole day. It was at the risk of his life, for any- 
one known to help a foreigner would have been killed. 

Liberality is a marked feature of the Chinese, in spite 
of the popular idea of their closeness in money matters. 
They are not good at systematic giving, nor indeed at 
anything systematic, but they respond warmly to any 
call for a donation. Their presents to each other at 
marriages, funerals, the birth of a first son, and other 
occasions seem to us quite out of keeping with their 
means. When a missionary goes home on furlough after 
years among them, he is overwhelmed with gifts from 
those who can never expect to be repaid in any way. 
We have had happy experience of this liberality in our 
hospital and college, which have been built and maintained 
largely by voluntary contributions from the Chinese. 

Akin to this is their great hospitality, of the open 
spontaneous kind. Marriages, funerals, and births are 
the occasions of feasts to which crowds are asked, tents 
being erected on purpose. They do not confine their 
hospitality to such stated occasions, but are ready with 



56 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

it at all times and to all comers. The invitation we so 
often hear when we stop to speak to a man outside his 
door : " Will you not come in and rest, and drink a little 
water ? " is not a mere formality. They mean it. 

One summer afternoon we were caught by a thunder- 
storm when out walking in the country. Near by was a 
tiny little hut, built of mud bricks, with a thatched roof. 
For this we made with all possible speed, as the drops 
were heavy and our clothes thin. Seeing us running, its 
inmate opened the door and, before we could ask breath- 
lessly for shelter, begged us to come in. He apologized 
for the poorness of his humble dwelling, and at once began 
to prepare hot water to offer us, excusing himself for 
possessing no tea. 

" Had I known that such honourable guests were 
coming, I would have prepared some," he said, and no 
doubt he would. He made the children at home, showing 
them all his little possessions, and had he been a lord he 
could not have entertained us more courteously. He 
was not a Christian, nor had he ever been near the 
hospital, nor even spoken to a foreigner before. We were 
simply fellow-beings in need of shelter, and he gave it 
gladly. 

We often hear of the deceitfulness and dishonesty of 
the Chinese, — " ways that are dark, and tricks that are 
strange." Yet those who come into close contact with 
Chinese merchants consider them as reliable as any in the 
world. During over thirty years' experience I have 
always found the word of a respectable merchant or 
tradesman as good as his bond. I have known of con- 
tracts between foreigners and Chinese where the China- 
man from some unforeseen cause lost money instead of 
making a profit, yet he took it as a matter of course 
that he should honourably fulfil his contract. It is a 
common experience that lack of trust or lack of under- 
standing those with whom one is dealing causes deceit 
and dishonesty, whereas trust breeds trustworthiness. 



EAST AND WEST : MISTAKEN JUDGMENTS 57 

Foreigners may be met with who have lived a lifetime 
in China and have not a good word to say of the Chinese. 
A man may lightly dismiss a servant on suspicion, or in 
anger, or for some breach of foreign custom, in a way which 
the Chinese regard as unjust. It is difficult for him to 
find a second servant of real trustworthiness. If a 
misunderstanding again occur, he becomes noted as a 
man to whom no good servant should go, and all his life 
he will suffer from a succession of undesirables, who take 
service to make what they can out of him, by theft or 
other means. 

One cause of the common imputation of dishonesty is 
the universal Chinese custom of commissions, or, in Anglo- 
Chinese parlance, "squeezing." In buying or selling, an 
uncertain percentage may remain in the hands of each 
person who has to do with the transaction. This is the 
system of the country, from highest to lowest, and is 
regarded as a man's lawful right. No doubt it is a bad 
system, open to endless abuses, but it is universally 
recognized and is not considered dishonest nor unjust if 
kept within limits. It is not to be compared with the 
calculated rascality in swindling met with in some so- 
called Christian countries, though unfortunately the 
Chinese are beginning to learn such things also. 

One day I was visiting a Chinese official, an intimate 
friend, whose family were away. His head cook came in 
on business, and the master said to him : 

" You must be badly out of pocket now with so few 
to provide for. Here is something to make up." And 
he handed him some money. I was interested in the 
episode, and asked about this custom, which is so objec- 
tionable to us. 

" He gets about 5 per cent on all his purchases," 
said the official. " The other servants see that he does 
not take too much. The Governor-General's people will 
take double that, there are so many to get a share, and 
the Emperor pays most of all." 



58 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

The same principle runs through all official life. The 
nominal salary is a mere trifle. 

" I don't get enough to pay the food of my horses," 
said one official. There are endless perquisites of office 
which form the real salary. The evil of the system is 
that it is left to each official to determine what are his 
rights, and while there are many conscientious, fair- 
minded men who take no more than their due, there are 
not a few who, regardless of the people, grasp at all they 
can. 

The Chinaman is usually credited with being stolid, 
whereas he is in truth, under certain conditions, one of the 
most nervously excitable of men. He will endure a great 
deal if he thinks it inevitable, and not complain, and his 
feelings do not readily show themselves in his face ; but 
deal with him contrary to " reason," or in a way which 
he considers touches his honour, and he quickly becomes 
so excited that he loses all control of himself. A common 
cause of illness is a " fit of anger." I have seen a man's 
temperature rise four degrees in a few minutes, solely 
because of rage at some news from his home. There 
was a patient in the hospital who one evening suddenly 
lost the power of speech and developed alarming 
symptoms with very high temperature. I found that his 
servant had just left him, and he had been very angry ; 
so we got the man to return to his duties, and gradually 
the patient was restored to his normal state. 

This nervous susceptibility is often worked upon by 
the innate fatalism of the East. When a man believes a 
thing will happen, that goes far to make it happen. An 
elderly man suffering from severe dysentery was brought 
to us by his son, and after four days' treatment had greatly 
improved. On talking with him I was surprised to find 
that he was firmly convinced that he was dying. At the 
beginning of his illness he had consulted a fortune-teller, 
who said that he would certainly die at 4 p.m. on a certain 
day. This the family tried to prevent by sending him to us. 



EAST AND WEST : MISTAKEN JUDGMENTS 59 

" You may do what you like to cure me," said the old 
man, " but I have to die all the same. It is the Decree of 
Heaven." In spite of our remonstrances and the en- 
treaties of his wife and son, he got men to carry him home 
on a stretcher, and on the afternoon of the appointed 
day he died. 

With a people of this temperament one would expect 
suicide to be common, and so it is, but not from the same 
reasons as principally cause it in Europe. In China a man 
kills himself not because he is tired of life, nor from the 
cowardly desire to escape shame or distress ; but either 
in ungovernable anger or because he knows that his death 
will put the other party in the wrong. You lend a man 
money and he cannot pay ; you make it unpleasant for 
him, and " take away his face," i.e. his honour vis-a-vis 
the world ; he dies to revenge himself on you, and you 
are blamed for the death. Or you have a lawsuit and win 
your case, but your opponent commits suicide, and it 
would have been better for you to lose. 

There was in Moukden a wealthy family who had land 
in the country adjoining that of some comparatively 
poor people. A dispute arose as to boundaries and they 
went to law. Having money to back him, the rich man 
won the case. Next day a son of the poor man com- 
mitted suicide at his door, and he had heavily to com- 
pensate the parents. When that was settled, another son 
did the same, calling on all to witness that he did this 
because of the injustice his parents had suffered at the 
hands of this man. This time a much heavier indemnity 
was demanded, and, after months of haggling, was paid. 
Then a third son killed himself, and the payment of the 
still further increased blood-money reduced the once 
wealthy man to be poorer than his rival. Again the 
lawsuit was heard, and this time the country family 
won the case. The sense of family honour is strong, 
though manifesting itself very differently with us. 

When a young wife is unhappy, suicide by jumping 



60 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

down a well is not uncommon. Immediately her own 
parents or relatives demand money from the father-in- 
law, because she must have been ill-treated or she would 
not have killed herself. It may have been done in a fit 
of anger, and the quarrel may have been entirely her own 
fault, but this would be difficult to prove, and in most 
cases the husband's family consent to pay hush-money. 
This custom acts as a wholesome deterrent to the ill- 
treatment of young wives by mothers-in-law. 

Revenge or retaliation in some form is looked upon as a 
duty. If a person injures you, you " lose face " if you do 
not take some measures against him. Among the rough 
and illiterate the methods of revenge are sometimes 
terribly brutal. A man came to us with part of his tongue 
cut off by an enemy, another with his eyes gouged out 
and both hands chopped off, a third with all four eyelids 
cut off. (We were able by plastic operations to supply 
some protection to the poor staring eyes.) In general, 
however, the use of brute force is condemned, and the 
tongue is considered a more dignified weapon. When we 
hear with astonishment a cultured, well-dressed person 
indulging in the most extreme vituperation, and ask how 
this is possible, he answers calmly : 

" He reviled me, so of course I must curse him, or I 
would lose face." The Christian precept, Bless them that 
curse you, does not commend itself to the natural man 
in China. 

The Western world has regarded China as far behind in 
all civilization, largely because of her slowness to develop 
those lethal weapons a modern army and navy. In 
spite of her teeming millions, she could be coerced by a 
gunboat ; therefore she was despised. It is a question, 
however, whether her ideal of civilization is not of a higher 
type than that which acts on the principle that " might 
is right." In China it has long been recognized that 
mind is superior to matter, intelligence to physical 
strength, the appeal to reason better than decision by 



EAST AND WEST : MISTAKEN JUDGMENTS 61 

force of arms. Arbitration is her ideal. A certain force 
of soldiers was always necessary, but it was an armed 
provincial constabulary rather than an army, and the 
difference in rank between a civil and a military official 
shows how righting was looked upon. 

Reason is regarded by all as supreme, and is appealed to 
on every occasion. No stronger condemnation can be 
passed upon a man, a family, a community, a nation, 
than that they are devoid of " reason, reasonableness, 
right principle," as the word may variously be translated. 
When, at the point of the sword, a nation makes a demand 
which is manifestly without right, and when China has 
to give in, no one considers that the superiority of the 
foreigners has been established, but rather the reverse. 
For it is a poor cause that has to resort to force ; its 
supporters evidently realize that they have not reason 
behind them. 

This is carried out in communal and individual life. 
To appeal to a man's sense of reason has far more effect 
than threatening him with arrest. The settlement of 
quarrels by means of middlemen or arbitrators is uni- 
versal. Until the Russo-Japanese war brought Western 
ways among us, there was not a policeman in Moukden nor 
any other city, and none were needed. Night-watchmen 
there were, and " yamen runners " who would come to 
arrest a man if sent for, but the peace of the city was in 
the hands of its citizens. 

The patriarchal family system, from 20 to 150 souls 
living as members of one household, has often been blamed 
for causing family quarrels. But could we imagine such 
a system enduring in the West at all ? The dispeace 
would be so constant and bitter as to be almost unbear- 
able. As a matter of fact, most of these populous homes 
live in a wonderful measure of amity and affection, all 
the members being ruled by the old grandfather or mother, 
whose word is law, and who acts as arbitrator in every 
dispute. 



62 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

After a foreigner has become accustomed to his first 
impressions and has concluded that the Chinese are 
diametrically the opposite of ourselves, he will, if he lives 
among them and learns to know them intimately, gradu- 
ally change his mind, and find out how like we are after 
all. A country farm with boys and girls growing up 
in health and merriment around parents and grand- 
parents, attending the village school or helping on the 
farm, while the grown folks work hard in the fields and 
in the home, and the old people totter in the summer 
sunshine, and doze in the warmest corner in winter — 
it is really much the same as the life on a croft or small 
farm at home, except that the religious background of 
life does not exist. 

This is in reality the one vital difference. As a general 
rule, religion counts for nothing in Manchuria. A man has 
nothing great to live for, no high ideals, nothing to 
glorify his monotonous daily round and common task, 
no desire for moral and spiritual growth and development 
in this life, no hope for any life to come. He may subscribe 
to the building of a temple, or burn incense before an 
idol, but that is not usually a religious act at all. He does 
it as a form of insurance, to bribe the evil influences 
which might otherwise harm his home, or to secure 
some temporal boon which he earnestly desires, or at 
the most to turn aside the punishment which his own 
evil doings, known and unknown, would naturally 
bring. 

Those who profess to be religious in the only way he 
has heard of, Buddhist or Taoist priests, or devotees who 
have vowed to do all kinds of uncomfortable things in 
the name of religion — he sees indulging at the same time 
in every form of vice. Being an eminently reasonable 
man, he recognizes this practical divorce of religion from 
morality, and concludes that religion is of very little use. 
At the same time, for an upright life, even if he does not 
practise it, he has a very great respect, inherited from 



EAST AND WEST : MISTAKEN JUDGMENTS 63 

generations of ancestors who have been taught the high 
morality of Confucius. 

For the great bulk of the people, outside those who 
follow a few Buddhist sects, religion, properly speaking, 
does not exist, though there is a vast deal of superstition. 
This material life is all they know or care about. Even 
their respect for uprightness and morality is based 
on the experience that in the long run they pay best. 
What will make money, furnish creature comforts, and 
above all give security for the coming years, that is to be 
followed after. A man is loyal to his ancestors, and 
faithfully worships at their shrines ; and when his time 
comes he will be gathered to his fathers, and his children 
whom he has instructed will in their turn worship at his 
shrine. What good will it do to him ? we ask. And the 
many millions of Manchuria all give one answer : " Who 
knows ? " 



VIII 

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD 

" No sooner was I fairly found 
Pledged to the plain, after a pace or two, 
Than pausing to throw backward a last view 
To the safe road, 'twas gone ! grey plain all round ! 
Nothing but plain to the horizon's bound ! " 

" Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came." 

Robert Browning. 

THERE are few parts of the world where the modern 
change in ease of access has been more marked than 
in Manchuria. One can now leave London at nine o'clock 
on a Monday morning, and after a comfortable sleeping-car 
journey drive through the Moukden streets in the after- 
noon of Friday, eleven days later. The contrast with 
thirty years ago, and indeed with thirteen years ago, is 
greater than the contrast between that time and the 
days of sailing ships. 

Manchuria used to be one of the remote parts of China, 
little known and seldom visited. After the six weeks' 
voyage from London to Shanghai, a coasting steamer to 
Newchwang must be waited for, perhaps as long as ten 
days. Arrived there after a three or four days' voyage, 
another stay of a few days was necessary, to hire carts 
and prepare for the journey up-country. Bedding was 
needed for the inns by the way, a servant to prepare food, 
pots and pans to cook it in, knives and forks to eat it with, 
plates and cups for those who did not care to use the 
scanty and coarse inn supply, and a store of sufficient 

64 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD 65 

foreign food to eke out the native fare of the inns, on 
which few foreigners can maintain health. 

Inland travel was no easy matter, and it remains the 
same to this day aside from the railway lines. Made 
roads are non-existent. Rough tracks lead across the 
country from village to village, usually below the level 
of the surrounding land, and deep ruts are worn by strings 
of heavy carts conveying the produce of the district to 
the nearest mart. In times of rain these roads become 
streams or a succession of ponds and quagmires, and the 
weary mules have to struggle on at a snail's pace, some- 
times only succeeding in making five miles a day. Occa- 
sionally a mule is drowned in the road. 

The passenger travels in a springless cart drawn by 
three horses or mules, which are guided chiefly by the 
voice of the driver. The jolting is most trying, conducive 
to headache or sickness, especially to the inexperienced. 
Many a traveller concludes it to be preferable to walk, 
until fatigue drives him back to the questionable comfort 
of his cart. When approaching darkness makes a halt 
necessary, he has to content himself with a Chinese inn. 
To the experienced this is no hardship, but the new- 
comer feels a brick bed very hard, in spite of the mattress 
he has with him ; the smoky rushlight gives a miserable 
light ; and the prying eyes peering through the holes, so 
easily made in the paper partition or windows of what is 
called a private room, cause an uncomfortable lack of 
privacy. Then the carter always insists on starting in 
the small hours of the morning, when in winter it is 
bitterly cold. The journey of 120 miles to Moukden by 
cart used to occupy from four to eight days, according to 
weather and the condition of the roads. 

In summer, instead of carts a boat might be hired, 
a rough river-craft used for beans and other cargo. The 
passenger took the place of the beans in the bottom of the 
boat, a matting tent giving privacy and protection. Here, 
with a fair degree of comfort, the journey might be made 



66 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

in anything from three to ten days, more probably the 
latter. If the wind was favourable the boat sailed along 
pleasantly among green fields or between high banks with 
overhanging willows, but at every bend the long poles 
were needed to keep her off the banks or shallows. Going 
up-stream, more often the men poled for hours at a time, 
the monotonous tramp of their bare feet resounding on 
the narrow deck which runs on either side of the boat. 
At other times, when the wind was adverse or the con- 
trary current strong, the crew took to " tracking." A 
rope was fastened to the top of the mast, so as to clear 
bushes and trees on the banks, and the two or three 
available men toiled with it along the tow-path, while 
one remained on board to steer. For those who knew 
the language and could chat with the boatmen and the 
villagers, these journeys by river were a pleasant variety, 
even when the boat stuck on a sandbank and it took some 
hours to get her off. For a stranger, however, the 
journey by road or by water was not inviting, and it is 
not to be wondered at that Inland Manchuria in those 
early days saw very few visitors. 

In winter the feeling of isolation was intensified by 
the difficulty of getting into or out of the country. To- 
wards the end of November the Port of Newchwang, the 
one gate to Manchuria, " closed," and remained ice- 
bound for at least four months. Letters came by swift 
couriers overland from Shanghai, taking more than a 
month, but to travel that way was out of the question. 
Exit by the north was still more impossible, as the 
Siberian Railway had not even been thought of. To the 
east was the Hermit Kingdom of Korea, where no foreigner 
could enter. Dalny had not yet been created, and the 
only way of crossing the sea in winter was to trust one- 
self to the storms in a Chinese sailing junk, after an 
overland journey of a week or ten days to Port Arthur 
or one of the bays near it. 

Those foreigners who lived up-country remained there 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD 67 

for the most part all the year round. There was 
no summer resort within reach, and the only change 
possible without great expense was to pay a visit to 
some other station, or to go on a tour into the farther 
interior. 

Itinerating tours were and are often taken in winter, 
when the roads are frozen hard and the cart can rattle 
over them or along the ridges of the bare brown fields at 
a trot, and cover as much as forty miles in a day. Then 
the people are at leisure from their farm labour, and have 
time to listen or to bring their sick folk. A journey in 
spring is a delight to the soul, with the fresh green life 
bursting forth all around after the dreary winter, and 
the wild flowers rejoicing in their new life. But the body 
has to pay dear for such soul-luxuries, as the cart bumps 
and toils in the mud and deep ruts. In summer the colour 
dies out, the freshness and greenness become wilted and 
dull, the heat makes travelling a burden and a danger 
to a foreigner ; then too come the heavy rains, the 
streams are swollen and hard to ford, the roads become 
rivers or quagmires. 

An early autumn journey is through quite a different 
land. The cart or riding-horse jogs along the country 
roads and lanes with tall twelve-foot-high millet on either 
side. The traveller cannot see more than a few yards 
away, except the road behind and in front and the 
cloudless distance overhead. Only now and then as he 
reaches some rising ground he draws his breath at the 
rich beauty before him, miles and miles of millet, the 
heavy red-brown heads of grain waving cumbrously on 
their thick stalks in the blue sunshine, while here and 
there a farm or a hamlet nestling amid its trees, or a field 
of other grain or vivid green vegetables, breaks the ride 
monotony. 

My first country journey was in the spring of 1884, 
when I had been a year and a half in Manchuria. With 
a light heart I put aside all my language -study books, 



68 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

packed into a cart my bedding and a few other belong- 
ings, a good stock of medicines and some instruments, 
and took three days' journey south to Haicheng, to join 
my companion, a senior missionary, the Rev. John 
Maclntyre. He also had a cart with bedding and other 
things, and a stock of Gospels and Christian books and 
tracts. We ourselves rode on horseback, much the 
pleasantest mode of travel. From Haicheng we struck 
away into the hill country to the south-east, and I began 
to realize what a beautiful land Manchuria is. Spring 
had come with a rush, violets were carpeting the woods, 
bluebells were ringing joyously, and the trees eagerly 
" uttering green leaves." Undulating hills gave place to 
high mountains with grand passes, reminding us of our 
own Scottish highlands. The summits and clefts of 
these heights were still white, and clear streams from 
the melting snows ran in the valleys. A striking 
feature on these rivers is the many weirs and water- 
mills with turbine wheels, in use here for hundreds of 
years. 

In every town and village where we stopped we made 
known that we would see patients, and crowds of as- 
tonished people surrounded us. Many ailments were 
cured and minor operations performed, the existence of 
a hospital in Moukden was made known, many books 
were sold, thousands listened to our preaching, and all 
went away saying that " this Jesus religion must be quite 
a good thing." We went as far as the River Yalu, the 
border of Korea, then turning north returned by a 
different route. 

One day towards dusk, in a sparsely inhabited dis- 
trict, we found ourselves several miles from the only inn, 
and between us and it was a river, swollen with the 
melting snows. It was quite evident that the carts could 
not cross. 

" We can swim if need be," said Mr. Maclntyre, " and 
so can the horses ; let's ride across." So we plunged into 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD 69 

the clear rapidly-flcwing stream. Fortunately swimming 
was not necessary, the animals kept their footing and 
struggled through to the other side. We found our way 
to the inn, reaching it about dark, a poor hovel, only one 
common room, with two old men as innkeepers. We were 
tired and glad of a resting-place, humble though it was. 
There was neither candle nor lamp, but the end of a 
tarred rope was lit, hanging from a beam, and by this 
dim light I looked at my watch. 

" What is that toy ? " asked one of the old men. 

" It tells the time," I answered. 

" What time ? What do you mean by time ? " 

" It shows where the sun is." 

Turning to his brother, he asked in a puzzled way : 

"But the sun's down long ago: how can he tell where 
it is ? " 

" Ai-ya / " said the brother, with awe. " He can still 
see it in that glass ! What can these foreigners not 
do?" 

We were ravenously hungry, but there was no food of 
any kind in the inn except dry cobs of last year's Indian 
corn. These we had boiled, and thus took the edge off 
our hunger. At last, about midnight, our carts arrived, 
and we were thankful to have a second and more digest- 
ible supper, and our beds. Early next morning we were 
astir, preparing to go on. As our horses were being 
saddled the old man again began to question us : 

" How far away is your country ? " 

" Many thousand miles." 

" And did you ride all the way on that horse ? " 

Some days later an untimely snowstorm overtook us. 
Snow in Manchuria is usually dry as powder ; but the 
first early fall and the late snow of spring are like the 
home article, finding their way damply into every nook 
and cranny, penetrating even into the recesses of bedding 
and bundles in the carts, so we were weather-bound in a 
wayside inn. Many people gathered to look at us, to 



70 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

watch us eat, to listen to us speaking to each other in a 
foreign language, to examine our strange clothes and 
belongings, to tell of their ailments, to question us as to 
what made us come here. Among them was a man with 
an enormous unsightly tumour over one eye. He had 
heard of our Moukden work, and came to us begging to 
have this taken away. Forthwith a table was brought, 
antiseptics prepared, and there in the middle of the 
gaping crowd, amid much excitement, the tumour was 
removed and the wound sewed up. It was dressed 
that evening and next morning, then left to Nature's 
care. I afterwards heard that it healed most satis- 
factorily. 

The arrival of a foreigner in Moukden in those days 
was quite an event. One winter evening early in 1885 
our servant came in to say that there was a foreigner at 
the gate, but he evidently hesitated to bring him in. 
I went out, and there was an elderly man in decidedly 
dirty and ragged Chinese clothes, the colour of whose 
shaggy beard proclaimed at once that he was no China- 
man. As he knew no English, nor could I make out his 
language, we were reduced to conversing in Chinese. 
He was a Pole who had been shipwrecked more than 
twenty years before in the south of Manchuria. Accord- 
ing to his statement, he was the only survivor from the 
wreck, and the British Consul in Newchwang had helped 
him, and had sent him away to the far borders of Man- 
churia to find out about the " Fish-skin Tartars." He 
travelled north day after day, until he found himself near 
the region he sought ; but his money was exhausted, 
so he hired himself as farm labourer to a Chinaman and 
settled down there. 

It was a wild lawless country, quite beyond the control 
of any Government, and was at that time under a brigand 
chief who had power of life and death. A common 
punishment for those who thwarted him was burying 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD 71 

alive. Here the Pole worked hard and behaved well, so 
that he won the confidence of the people, and got a piece 
of ground of his own to farm. He married a Chinese 
woman and lived happily with his family for a good many 
years. 

Then a tragedy befell them. A terrible flood swept 
away wife, children, homestead, crops ; and now, alone 
and desolate, his thoughts turned to his mother, sisters, 
and country. He was trying to work his way slowly to 
Newchwang, where he hoped to get a ship and return to 
his native land. For all these years he had heard no news 
of European events, and he listened eagerly to the story 
of the Franco-Prussian war and the rise of the German 
Empire. But what of Poland ? When I told him that 
the last effort for independence had failed, and that there 
was no Poland, and showed him the map of Europe, he 
wept like a child. 

The Chinese Christians were greatly interested in the 
man, especially when he told them he too was a Christian, 
and they collected among themselves a considerable sum 
to help him on his journey. We rigged him out with old 
foreign clothes, entertained him for a few days, and then 
sent him down to Newchwang with a letter to the British 
Consul. Afterwards we heard that he went straight to 
the Roman Catholic Mission in Newchwang, saying that 
he was a Catholic, which was no doubt true, and the 
priests gave him money. He also went to the Consul and 
others with my letter and got money from them. Then 
one day he disappeared, but not by steamer, and no one 
heard of him again. Doubtless he was a political exile 
who dare not return to the Poland he yearned for. 

Sometimes we had visitors of a very different type, 
as when Sir Henry (then Mr.) James, and Sir Francis 
(then Lieutenant) Younghusband, and Mr. Fulford (now 
Consul-General) spent a few days with us on their 
way to explore the regions of the " Long White 
Mountains." 



72 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Some years later we had a visit from the distinguished 
traveller Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop. She was in Korea 
when the revolt broke out which ushered in the Chino- 
Japanese war, and with other ladies was ordered out. 
Her plans being thus overturned, she came to Newchwang 
and took boat for Moukden. A few hundred yards from 
our door her cart was upset in trying to avoid a black 
pool of unknown depth ; she was thrown out against a 
stone, receiving bad bruises, and her arm was seriously 
injured. For over five weeks she remained in Moukden, 
taking a deep interest in our work and in all that hap- 
pened, visiting the hospital constantly, inquiring into 
the history of each patient, and taking photographs. 
We were greatly impressed by her energy and keenness 
in the face of ill-health and suffering. Her right arm 
being disabled she immediately set herself to learn to 
write with her left hand, and in this way part of the MS. 
of her book on Korea was written. She was with us 
during a trying time of deep anxiety and some danger 
at the beginning of the war, when she endeared her- 
self to us all, and ever afterward she remained a staunch 
friend to us and our work. A part of the Medical 
College here is erected in her memory and with her 
money. 

As a general rule, as long as there was no railway, 
months passed without our seeing any European outside 
our own little circle. It was in the winter after the 
Chino -Japanese war that we first began to feel that the 
great world outside was stretching its covetous ringers 
into the plains and valleys of Manchuria. One day we 
had most unexpected visitors, a Russian colonel and 
lieutenant, attended by four Cossacks, the first we had 
ever seen. They had travelled through Korea, had passed 
northward into Manchuria, and had now come south as 
far as Moukden. We invited them to spend an evening 
with us, and had a most pleasant time with them. That 
night as I stood at our gate, and saw them mount their 



FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD 73 

horses and ride off at a gallop by the light of the brilliant 
winter stars, and heard the hoofs clatter in the distance 
on the hard roads, it seemed like a warning that old times 
were passing away, and that Manchuria was to be left 
to her isolation no longer. 



IX 
progress, 1883-1894 

" Take up the White Man's Burden — . . . 

" By open speech and simple 

An hundred times made plain, 
To seek another's profit 
And work another's gain. 

" And when your goal is nearest, 
The end for others sought, 
Watch sloth and heathen folly 
Bring all your hopes to nought." 

Rudyard Kipling. 

MY first Sunday in Moukden, the service was held 
in a small room, with under a score of Chinese 
present, all men. It was a warm-hearted, united little 
company, very hopeful too, in spite of obloquy and 
persecution, looking forward to the time when Man- 
churia would be conquered for their King. But I do not 
think that the most hopeful would have believed it 
possible that thirty years later there would be twenty-six 
thousand Protestant Christian members of the churches, 
besides many more adherents, and that in Moukden alone 
about a thousand would gather every Sunday to worship 
God in three different churches or halls. 

Speaking generally, Manchuria has been more respon- 
sive than any part of China, in proportion to the number 
of foreign missionaries at work. This is due partly to the 
mixed nature of the population. Men who have been 
transplanted from various parts of China do not naturally 

74 



PROGRESS, 1883-1894 75 

hold on firmly to their old local superstitions and beliefs. 
Where so many experiences in life are new, a new religion 
does not seem so impossible. The inward impulse to 
find some settled faith to hold by has caused thousands 
of these Manchurian Chinese to enter Buddhist sects, 
groping after truth. These sects have been manifest 
feeders of the Church, furnishing some of her most earnest 
votaries and deepest thinkers, and at the same time also 
her keenest and most determined antagonists. 

The progress of Christianity in Manchuria is still more 
largely due to the policy adopted from the beginning in 
mission work, the most prominent principle of this policy 
being that the Christian Church must be Chinese, not 
foreign. The members have been encouraged to under- 
take the spreading of the light themselves. From the 
first, responsibility was laid on Chinese evangelists and 
Christians, and it is they who have brought in these 
thousands. The Church is also Chinese in its organization 
and administration. Where foreign rules and customs 
have been introduced, it has only been until the people 
themselves chose to alter them. Denominationalism has 
been conspicuously absent, at least ninety-nine of every 
hundred members to-day being unaware that there have 
all along been several independent missionary societies at 
work, viz. the United Free Church of Scotland, the 
Irish Presbyterian Church, the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, and since 1895 the Danish Lutheran Church. 
To the Chinese mind there is but one — the Christian 
Church of Manchuria. 

Then when the church in Moukden grew large enough 
to need a special building, this was not erected among or 
even near the houses of the missionaries, but in a more 
central and convenient situation near the inner city gate. 
It was built in purely Chinese style, with a pagoda tower 
of which the Christians were very proud, and it could 
accommodate seven or eight hundred. Adjoining it were 
built later on first one and then a second " manse," in 



76 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

which live the two Chinese pastors of the congregation, 
so that there is no trace of foreign domination. 

Another principal factor in breaking down the pre- 
judice against Christianity and in making its teachings 
widely known, has been Medical Missions. This method 
has been largely used in Manchuria, more so than in most 
provinces. Moukden came first as a medical centre, and 
was followed at intervals of a few years by Liaoyang, 
Kwanchengtze, Kirin, and others, until now there are 
hospitals in eighteen different centres dotted over the 
country. 

In Medical Mission work the general methods are much 
the same everywhere : we itinerate, we see out-patients, 
we open a hospital, and we teach. 

1 . Itinerating is at first of very great use in a double 
sense : it enables the people to know us, and us to know 
the people. It spreads the news of the existence of a 
foreign doctor, medical work, and the Christian religion, 
and gives us the opportunity of maldng friends. Later 
on it becomes unnecessary, and is felt to be waste of 
time and money in comparison with hospital work. 
Here are some extracts from the journal of a journey 
made in 1886, the route being north to Tieling, south-east 
to Yungling, and west to Moukden, about two hundred 
miles in all. 

" Mon., Nov. 23. — Cold stormy day, snow falling 
heavily. Saw out-patients early, and called on two 
official patients. Started on journey 2.30 p.m. in a 
snowstorm. Am advertised to see patients on Wednes- 
day at Ilu, a village 25 miles distant, and hope to meet 
Webster there. A courier has been sent before to 
intimate our coming all along the route, and bills have 
been posted up explaining the object of our visit. 
Roads hard, very rutty, progress slow. Only made 3 
miles, putting up for the night at a village. Inn small, 
smoky, filthy. 




MOUKDEN MISSION CHURCH 



PROGRESS, 1883-1894 77 

"Tues., 2tth. — On road at daybreak, keen north 
wind. Reached large village about 9.30 a.m. Inn- 
keeper friendly and loud in praise of Englishmen. 
Professed to be anxious to understand our religion, 
but sincerity doubtful. I was recognized by several 
as the ' Moukden free-healing doctor,' and greeted 
heartily. 5 p.m. Got to Ilu, Webster awaiting me. 
Seems a place of some importance. 

; ' Wed., 25th. — After breakfast saw 34 patients, and 
at the same time there was preaching, and tracts were 
given away. In afternoon walked 20 li to next village, 
where we stayed the night. 

" Thurs., 26th. — Saw patients and was asked to visit 
several in their homes, which means a decided increase 
of confidence. Left at 1 p.m. and reached Tiding at 5. 
Fine city, beautifully situated. Has two distilleries 
and twenty pawnshops, the latter being used like 
banks and regarded by the Chinese as a sure mark of 
prosperity. Mr. Ross and Mr. Webster were stoned out 
of this city not long ago. 

" Frid., 21th. — Patients began to gather early, and 
I went on examining cases and, with Webster's help, 
dispensing medicines as long as daylight allowed, and 
for some time with the feeble glimmer of a native 
candle. Preaching in chapel from morn till night. 
Pleasing to see the good order and friendliness in the 
large crowd. An old patient who was cured in Moukden 
a year ago presented himself, and his account of his 
cure, which he was proud to repeat again and again, 
did much in inspiring confidence. 

"Sat., 28th. — Dispensed until noon — saw in all 120. 
Left at 1 p.m. for the south-east and entered beautiful 
hill scenery. Rich country, well cultivated, densely 
populated. Spent night at village with 400 people. 
Slept in small outer room whose temperature was 
several degrees below zero. In the evening we rolled 
ourselves in our fur rugs and coats on the hang, and 
began to explain our message to some who gathered 



78 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

to look at the foreigner. All promised to read our 
books. At midnight we were awakened by the loud 
squealing of pigs, barking of dogs, shouting and 
general uproar. A pack of wolves had come down from 
the hills, and one, rinding its way into the compound, 
had a desperate fight with the dogs. . . . 

" Tues., 1st Dec. — At a town of 1000 inhabitants. 
People very hostile and suspicious. Servant was asked 
by several what was the secret purpose at the bottom 
of our visit. Feared none would trust us or our drugs. 
At last a young man came forward suffering from a 
simple abscess. An incision gave great and immediate 
relief, and did wonders in our favour. Saw 42 cases. 

" Wed., 2nd Dec. — Passed through fine mountainous 
scenery, where are tigers, etc. Yesterday two cows 
were devoured, and last winter a young man was 
carried away by a tiger from quite near a house we 
passed, and never heard of again. 

" Thurs., 3rd Dec. — At one village people very 
suspicious. The sight of my stethoscope made a man 
run for his life. 

" Frid., Wh Dec. — Reached Yungling, a large Manchu 
town. Expected opposition, but found the opposite. 
A mandarin who was treated in Moukden called on us 
and this influenced the whole town." 



2. The Dispensary is our widest opportunity. Here 
the people come in crowds. For the first twelve years we 
saw men twice a week and women twice, the other two 
days being reserved for operating. By the summer of 
1894, the beginning of the Chino -Japanese war, we had 
sometimes two hundred patients in a forenoon. After 
that war there was a separate women's hospital under 
lady doctors, and we began to see patients four days a 
week. In the summer of 1913 we have had over four 



PROGRESS, 1883-1894 79 

hundred men in a forenoon, besides the three hundred at 
the women's dispensary. 

These patients begin to gather at an early hour, especi- 
ally in summer, and preaching goes on all morning in 
the waiting-room. Some who have time at their disposal 
remain to hear more after being examined and prescribed 
for. Much of what is said there is but seed by the way- 
side, but now and again there is a little " good ground " 
too. A man who has begun to listen because he had 
nothing better to do while waiting, may go on to inquire, 
because " the words are good." And on the hearts of 
many who go their way apparently untouched, an 
impression is made, so that when, perhaps years after- 
wards, Christianity once more comes near them, they 
receive it with gladness. Some buy books and tracts, and 
these find their way to distant homes where a missionary 
has never been seen. 

3. Both itinerating and dispensary lead up to the 
Hospital where our best work is done, both medically 
and spiritually. There we can see that our drugs are 
properly used, and watch their effect ; we can operate, and 
dress the wound as often as we wish ; we can find out 
our patient's real standpoint, talk over his difficulties, 
answer his objections ; and, what tells perhaps more than 
anything else, we can show him day by day Christianity 
in action. Attendance at religious services is purely 
optional, but the majority of the patients come gladly, 
the hymn-singing being a great attraction. We have 
always employed a hospital evangelist, for some two years, 
to preach to the out-patients, conduct the services, 
instruct all who care to listen, and follow up " inquirers " 
who have left the hospital. But this work has never been 
left to the evangelists alone. Doctors, assistants, dis- 
pensers, all do their part, and many is the man to-day 
an intelligent member of the Christian Church, who heard 
of Christ first in the wards of the hospital. 



80 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

The opening of the New Hospital in 1887 gave us much 
more scope than we previously had, and the roomy out- 
patient department caused our numbers rapidly to increase. 
In the early days patients used frequently to be baptized 
from the hospital, so that we could reckon in numbers the 
additions to the Church which were the direct fruit of 
our work. During four years fifty-four patients were 
baptized. Later on a new arrangement was made. The 
Church had greatly extended, persecution had in large 
measure died out, and it was feared that some might 
enter it from gratitude without realizing what was 
implied. So it was agreed that, unless under exceptional 
circumstances, no man should be baptized until after 
three months' probation, changed some years later to 
nine months. Thus our patients are not reckoned as 
hospital converts, but each man in his own home enters 
the Church like anyone else ; and we can have no idea 
of how many are brought in through the Medical Mission. 
We are chary of being over-confident of any man whom 
time has not proved, for sometimes those of whom we 
are most hopeful fall back sadly. There is one instance 
of a whole village becoming practically Christian through 
the influence of an ex-patient, who himself afterwards 
returned to opium-smoking and other evils. 

4. Training Assistants. — In opening medical work, 
the first difficulty that arises is that no intelligent assist- 
ance can be had. The doctor sees the patient, writes the 
prescription, makes up the medicine, performs the 
operation, and does all the dressings. The beginnings 
of medical education in China have been therefore in 
scattered hospitals, where the force of necessity has 
compelled the practical training of men more or less 
suitable. 

To begin with, I engaged a man called Hung as my 
Chinese teacher. He had entered the Church a few years 
before, but, though a good Chinese scholar, was in the 



PROGRESS, 1883-1894 81 

utmost poverty, earning a miserable pittance by drawing 
pictures. After a few months I began to teach him the 
English, or rather the Latin, names of drugs, and how to 
make them up. He soon became very useful, and was 
afterwards head dispenser. 

Wei, who became my chief assistant, was a young man 
of a very different stamp. His family were well-to-do 
farmers, he had received a good education, and had been 
employed for some years in a large drug shop in Moukden. 
From boyhood his mind had a religious bent, and at one 
time he wished to become a Buddhist recluse, so when 
Christianity was brought before him he accepted it 
readily. It was the custom that at certain seasons two 
of the shop assistants should go to the temple of the god 
of medicine to worship and present offerings. Shortly 
before our arrival in Moukden it had come to Wei's turn 
to go, and he refused, with the result that he was sum- 
marily dismissed. It was impossible for him to get a 
similar situation, his family were very angry and would 
not help him, so he was glad to accept the post of assistant, 
though the salary was but small. He proved a most 
faithful and capable helper, making it possible for me 
to do twice the^work otherwise possible. These two men 
I taught together, taking them gradually through a 
systematic course. 

It is obvious that it cannot be very satisfactory for one 
medical man to see out-patients, run a large hospital, 
superintend the evangelistic work, see patients in their 
homes, pay visits to officials, and at the same time give 
students regular tuition. This, however, is what had to 
be done for many years. One of the drawbacks of the 
system was the impossibility of binding these students 
to stay long enough for a satisfactory training. Again 
and again a man who seemed just what we wanted left 
us as soon as he had learned a little, and set up for himself 
a foreign medicine shop, professing to understand the 
healing art. When the new hospital was opened we took 



82 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

in four students. Within a year two left, and the others, 
after having much time and trouble expended on them, 
had to be dismissed later on. 

Hung too failed us, after ten years' useful work. The 
Roman Catholic Bishop in Moukden offered him a large 
salary, twice what he was getting, if he would go to them 
and be their doctor. He need not become a Catholic, 
he was told, but he would have a free house among them. 
He went, and before long found it advisable to turn 
Catholic. A few years later he died of cholera. It is 
interesting to note that his son, who in his baby days 
used to visit his father in the hospital, and boast that he 
was going to be a doctor, is now a student in our Medical 
College. 

At the beginning of 1892 we again made known that 
we would receive and train Christian young men as 
medical evangelists, and eight were enrolled for a five 
years' course of study. It was impossible to devote to 
their training as much time as was desirable, but they 
had regular lectures and clinical instruction all the year, 
they dispensed all the medicines, and each had charge of 
a ward where he did all the dressing as well as a good deal 
of what is done by nurses in our home hospitals. Some 
of these men proved the most satisfactory and useful we 
have had. So things stood when the Japanese war broke 
in upon our work. 



X 



SIDE-LIGHTS ON THE BEGINNINGS OF A WAR 
1894 

" They now to fight are gone, 
Armour on armour shone, 
Drum now to drum did groan, 

To hear was wonder ; 
That with the cries they make 
The very earth did shake, 
Trumpet to trumpet spake, 
Thunder to thunder." 

" Agincourt " — Michael Drayton, 

THE only foreign figure commonly seen in Moukden 
long ago was that of the Korean. His curious tall 
hat was a conspicuous object, especially when a Korean 
embassy passed on its way to present tribute to the 
Suzerain, the Emperor of China. Everyone knew and 
despised the Koreans, and most people in the towns had 
also some idea that there was another country beyond 
Korea called Japan, inhabited by a race of dwarfs, who, 
of course, must also be under the suzerainty of the 
"Son of Heaven." Even this inaccurate knowledge had 
not filtered through to the remote country districts, and 
in any case countries were hardly worth reckoning which 
were outside the " Middle Kingdom." All outside coun- 
tries were supposed to be much the same, though divided 
up into many petty States, such as France, Great Britain, 
and Russia. 

When therefore in 1884 there was war with France in 
the south, it was only known in Moukden that China was 

83 



84 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

" fighting the foreigners," and for some months our 
position here was precarious. Similarly in 1891, the 
anti-foreign riots on the Yang-tze caused a wave of 
excitement, and placards were again put up calling for the 
burning of foreign property on a certain day. But the 
excitement fizzled out in rain, the day was wet, and not 
a man appeared. 

Popular knowledge of public events and movements 
closely affecting China was scanty, vague, and inaccurate, 
such matters being regarded with indifference as con- 
cerning the officials only. The Korean border was not 
two hundred miles away from Moukden, but no one in 
Manchuria cared what happened there. We foreigners 
read in our weekly Shanghai paper of plots and risings, 
but few dreamed that these seemingly insignificant dis- 
putes in an insignificant country were to be the prelude 
to the strife of nations which was to rend Manchuria 
again and again. 

In the early summer of 1894 a cloud no bigger than a 
man's hand rose on the eastern horizon, and soon the 
whole heavens were black. The immediate occasion of 
the war is of little importance. The Japanese had for 
years been preparing to assert themselves, and to get the 
upper hand in Korea. We know now that had this occa- 
sion not served, another would soon have been found. 

Our first local warning of the coming trouble was near 
the end of July, when telegraphic orders came from Peking 
that our friend General Tso Pao Kuei and his entire 
forces were to start for Korea at once overland. His were 
the only real soldiers in Manchuria, well-trained, always 
maintained ready for action, and accustomed to fierce 
fighting with brigands. The first companies left within 
forty-eight hours, and the General himself with his staff a 
day later. He came first to bid me good-bye, not with a 
light heart. He had trained his men to the best of his 
knowledge and equipped them as well as he could, and they 
would follow him to the death ; but he knew how poor 



SIDE-LIGHTS ON A WAR, 1894 85 

was his best compared to the modern organization of the 
Japanese army, and he was fully aware of what was 
hidden from us, the lack of cohesion among the Chinese 
forces and Generals. 

" This is different from righting brigands," he said. 
" I am not likely to return." And he was right. 

During the following weeks many thousand troops of 
a very different stamp were summoned from all parts of 
Manchuria, till the road from Moukden to the Yalu River 
was one line of straggling soldiers on the march. Many 
were raw recruits, straight from their farms, or sturdy 
beggars swept in from the streets, who halted for a week 
or two here to be drilled before starting for the front. 
In a large barracks just behind the hospital we saw com- 
pany after company " licked into shape." Rifles were 
put into the hands of youths who had never seen a gun, 
and there was neither time nor teacher to instruct them. 
There were not nearly sufficient weapons of one make, 
so some companies had old rusty muzzle-loading muskets, 
or ancient Chinese matchlocks, or even bows and arrows, 
and many were armed after the ancient fashion with a 
short sword and a long wooden lance with a red tuft at 
the end. The chief thing these lancers practised was to 
make a simultaneous lunge forward, thrusting out their 
bristling lances and yelling " Dza ! " which means stab. 
On asking why they made so much noise, we learned that 
it was to frighten the enemy. 

It was pathetic to see these poor deluded fellows pre- 
paring to be mown down by modern fire. When their 
short training was over, they marched cheerfully to their 
doom, clad in the gay unserviceable soldiers' garb, bright 
red jacket with large round target on chest and back, 
every tenth man carrying a pole with a streaming red 
flag. The general view of the coming war was that the 
Japanese had presumed to rebel, and of course China 
must crush them — an easy task. 

A great number of the soldiers came from the extreme 



86 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

north for the first time in their lives. Many were Manchu 
reservists who had always drawn pay but never done 
work. All the Manchus, reservists or inactive regiments, 
were bigotedly and blindly anti-foreign, recognizing no 
difference between the foreigners they were to fight, 
against whom their passions were roused by tales true 
and false, and any others they might chance to encounter. 
They even looked on the Chinese with scorn, and regarded 
them as their natural prey. At first the passing of a 
company with their strange fire-arms or gay flags drew 
all the women and children out to see ; for General Tso's 
men were allowed no looting nor licence, the shooting of 
a few offenders stopped that at the outset. But within a 
few weeks the villages on the line of march were deserted, 
the women and children and all animals which had not 
been seized having gone into hiding, and little work was 
being done on the fields. The large inns were forcibly 
kept open by the soldiers. 

" They have devoured all my grain," moaned one poor 
innkeeper, " they have burned all my fuel, they have 
smashed all my dishes, they have ruined my house ; and 
now when I show them my empty hands, and say I have 
nothing to give them, they beat me ! " 

" The Chinese soldiers are not so bad," people would 
say under their breath, "it is those awful Manchus ! " 
One natural retribution quickly fell on them : before 
long we heard that the soldiers en route were suffering 
from lack of food. 

There was one special regiment of Manchus who were 
turbulent and fierce beyond their fellows. On their way 
definitely " to kill foreigners," they were ready for any- 
thing. In Moukden some of them began to make trouble. 
Most of the shopkeepers shut their shops and put up their 
shutters, and the soldiers began to threaten the Tartar- 
General and his guard. It looked for a time as if there 
would be fighting, but their officers managed to pacify 
them, and to withdraw them from the city to a camp 




.H y 

S 9 

j ° 

o -m 

< 3 

S P 



SIDE-LIGHTS ON A WAR, 1894 87 

outside. A friendly official told me afterwards that a 
Manchu official of high rank had said to him at that time : 
" Why do we delay till we get to Korea ? Are there not 
some of these foreigners in this city ? Let us kill them 
at once." 

Meantime a large company of the same regiment had 
reached Liaoyang, a city forty -five miles to the south. 
It was a hot afternoon, Friday, 10 August. Bands of 
these men were roaming about the streets, terrorizing the 
shopkeepers and helping themselves to whatever they 
fancied. Some of them saw a preaching-chapel, and with 
venomous glee they set themselves to wreck it com- 
pletely, after beating those who were there. A man ran 
to tell the missionary in charge, Rev. James Wylie, who 
lived in a Chinese house not far off. Mr. Wylie at once 
started on foot for the yamen a little distance away, to 
ask the mandarin, who was very friendly, to take steps 
to stop the rioting. Unfortunately he encountered a 
band of the marauders who had just raised the cry to 
look for the foreigners' houses and kill them all. With a 
yell of bloodthirsty triumph they fell upon him, and 
before long he was left for dead on the street, battered 
and gashed with many blows and wounds. 

This had, however, diverted the murderers from their 
purpose of finding the other foreigners. The magistrate 
having heard that there was a serious disturbance came 
out in his official chair with a guard to quell it. Caring 
nothing for mere Chinese authority, the soldiers turned 
on him, smashed his chair, beat his men, and he escaped 
for his life on foot in the gathering dusk. Darkness 
prevented further outrages ; the Manchus returned to 
their camp outside the city, and the gates were closed. 
Mr. Wylie was fearfully injured and quite unconscious. 
Sorrowing Chinese carried him before dark to the doctor's 
house on the outskirts of the city, where he lay for six 
days and then died. 

In Moukden we heard vaguely from officials the news 



88 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

of the disturbance the day after it occurred ; then letters 
came with details, and a mounted messenger summoned 
me down for consultation. It was the end of the rainy 
season, the roads were flooded and cart-travelling quite 
impossible, so that the natural course was to go on horse- 
back. But I was suffering severely at the time from an 
injury to my foot, and was compelled to hire a sedan 
chair. 

It was well that this was so, for I had to pass 
through the midst of the very men who had threatened 
the Tartar-General a few days before, and they had 
heard of the success of their comrades in killing a foreigner 
in Liaoyang. I drew the curtains of my chair completely, 
and they thought it was occupied by a high official. The 
chair-bearers, in mortal terror, were only too glad to 
encourage this idea, and so we passed them. But imme- 
diately afterwards we came to a river which must be 
crossed by ferry, and I had to leave the chair. The boat 
had just pushed off from the bank when a soldier caught 
sight of me and raised the cry : " A foreigner ! Kill ! 
Kill ! " The boatmen, greatly alarmed, poled with all 
their might. Several guns were raised to shoot, but an 
officer evidently remonstrated. This gave us time to 
reach the other side, where we were quickly out of sight 
behind the banks. Unfortunately I arrived too late to 
see Mr. Wylie alive. 

During the following weeks foreigners all over the 
province kept as quiet and unconspicuous as possible. 
No one attempted to go a journey, and in Moukden we 
confined ourselves to the district round our houses where 
we were well known. A few days after Mr. Wylie's death 
an Imperial Proclamation for the protection of foreigners 
was posted on all the city gates and scattered throughout 
the country. 

About the same time a prominent Manchu official of 
the Imperial Clan, who had been cured of a dangerous 
disease a few months before, presented to the hospital a 



SIDE-LIGHTS ON A WAR, 1894 89 

" tablet " as an expression of his gratitude. It came at 
a most opportune time. The large black board, with its 
glittering gold characters proclaiming the wonderful 
powers of the Healing Hand, was placed on a draped and 
gorgeously decorated platform with a brilliant yellow 
canopy, and promenaded through the streets for a whole 
forenoon, preceded by what stood for a band, discoursing 
discordant music ; so that it was known through the 
length and breadth of the city. In general we did not 
encourage this form of gratitude, nor relish the necessity 
for giving a substantial gratuity to the musicians, but 
on this occasion we welcomed it, and felt the money well 
spent. The same afternoon the official, as well as his 
wife and a large number of friends and attendants, called, 
a company of mounted soldiers escorting them. The 
lady suggested that I might act as mediator between 
Japan and China ! 

Next day Lady Tso, the wife of the General, called 
with their five children. She had heard that we were 
leaving Moukden and came to say good-bye. She was 
in very good spirits, having that morning received a 
telegram that her husband was quite safe. The publicity 
of these marks of official friendliness was of great value 
to us, especially in the eyes of the army. 

The common people were now quite friendly, as there 
was hardly a lane in Moukden without an old patient. 
The medical work went on as usual, though country 
people were few in number. In their stead we had soldiers 
by the dozen. Those in camp behind us were our very 
good friends, and sometimes twenty at a time would 
come for treatment. It was arranged that all soldiers 
should be seen at once when they came, without awaiting 
their turn, and this pleased them greatly. The people 
were looking forward to the winter with much appre- 
hension, because of the many soldiers on the march in 
some districts, and the great increase of brigands in others 
owing to the withdrawal of General Tso's troops. Every- 



90 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

one assumed as a matter of course that the Chinese would 
be victorious, but General Tso had sent for his men's 
winter clothing, and that meant delay. Defeat was 
unthinkable at the hands of an insignificant people like 
Japan. 



XI 



GRIM REALITY : THE CHINO -JAPANESE WAR 

" The giant shades of fate, silently flitting, 
Pile the dim outline of the coming doom." 

" Pauline " — Robert Browning. 

INTO the midst of the bright harvest weather of 
September came a whisper of a crushing Chinese 
defeat in North Korea, where General Tso had gone. At 
first no one cared to believe it, but soon it took definite 
and even exaggerated shape. The Chinese army was 
defeated and scattered, perhaps annihilated, General Tso 
was killed, the Japanese were advancing on Manchuria. 
The consternation of the Moukden officials was complete, 
for the impossible had happened, and what would come 
next? 

And yet it was easily explained. The Commander-in- 
Chief of the Chinese forces at the front had for weeks been 
sending false news to Peking of victories over the Japanese, 
and had received rewards and honours, while in reality he 
was neither fighting nor making any preparations for the 
inevitable battle. Many of the Chinese officers were 
lingering on the Manchurian side of the Yalu, while part 
of their regiments went to the front. Most of the Generals 
hated and mistrusted the Commander and each other ; 
those from the metropolitan province looked down on 
those from Manchuria ; Manchus would have no dealings 
with Chinese ; everyone seemed fighting for his own 
hand. 

General Tso drew out a plan of campaign specially for 

91 



92 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

the defence of Ping-yang, a city which was considered 
the key to the situation. In spite of jealousies the plan 
was agreed to, but at the critical moment the Commander- 
in-Chief and other Generals withdrew their men from 
Ping-yang. Part of the army engaged the Japanese 
outside the city, but without any co-operation with 
General Tso, who was left to defend the citadel alone, 
with inadequate forces. During the battle thousands of 
Chinese and Manchu soldiers were within reach, but were 
restrained from striking a blow. When it was evident 
that a Japanese victory was likely, all these Generals and 
their men retired as speedily as possible, some to a town 
on the Korean bank of the Yalu, others across the river 
into Manchuria, where they seemed to think no Japanese 
could follow. 

In Ping-yang General Tso made a spirited defence, 
though outnumbered many times, and his men were 
confident that if he had lived they would have held the 
city. The battle lasted the most part of three days, the 
Japanese occupying the surrounding hills and woods, and 
bombarding the fortifications. In the afternoon of the 
15th, General Tso was directing the fire of one of his 
heaviest guns when the gunner was killed at his side. 
The General, who had already received several wounds, 
stepped forward and fired the charge himself, but at the 
same moment fell shot in the leg. Binding the wound 
hastily with a piece of cloth, he got up and urged his men 
to greater efforts, but as he was shouting to them another 
bullet struck him, and he fell mortally wounded. Some 
of his men were placing him on horseback to attempt to 
escape, when a shell fell among them, killing all except 
one, a cavalry captain, who told me the story. He was 
stunned, and when he came to himself the day was lost, 
the Japanese were in the city. One more effort was made 
to carry away the dead General's body, but a party of the 
enemy advanced, and the men had to abandon it and 
flee. The Japanese recognized in General Tso a foeman 



GRIM REALITY: CHINO -JAPANESE WAR 93 

worthy of their steel, buried him with military honours, 
and erected a monument over his grave. 

On the death of their General the Chinese resistance 
ceased. Under heavy fire, the cavalry escaped as best 
they could through the Japanese infantry lines, cowering 
down on their horses and galloping full speed. The 
captain who had been with the General at the last took 
part in this wild charge. A bullet passed through his 
right knee and killed his horse, but after lying still for a 
little he succeeded in mounting a riderless steed and 
escaped. Another young fellow, aide-de-camp to the 
General, told me that the bullet which passed through his 
lung entered the head of a companion in front, killing 
him on the spot. The wounded man galloped on till his 
horse was shot under him. Then he just managed to 
crawl in among some long grass, when he lost conscious- 
ness. When he awoke it was dark, and he pressed on 
until early in the morning he reached a Chinese camp on 
the retreat. About a fortnight later he came to the 
Moukden hospital, where he made a rapid recovery. He 
and other Chinese soldiers frequently spoke of the silenee 
of the Japanese army in battle, contrasted with their own 
men, who all shouted at once. 

" They fight as if they were at drill," said one. 

There was great mourning and fear in Moukden when 
it was known that our good General was dead, the one 
man who could protect Manchuria. High and low united 
in respect and love for him, and for us it was the loss of 
a personal friend. His memory is still cherished affec- 
tionately, and no other General has ever arisen to fill his 
place in the popular mind. 

A good many men wounded in Ping-yang were received 
into our hospital, the Governor-General having repeated 
the orders of General Tso that all wounded were to be 
brought straight to us. The great majority of the injured, 
however, lay helpless in the Chinese frontier towns, 
where nothing could be done for their relief. 



94 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Just about this time an unfortunate episode caused us 
much anxiety. During the summer the agent of a 
German firm had been in Manchuria selling guns to the 
Governors of the Three Provinces. He returned to 
Moukden from the north just when the news of the 
General's death and the great defeat was causing much 
excitement. This, the violent death of Mr. Wylie a few 
weeks before, and probably also business worries, seem 
to have preyed upon his mind and upset his reason. I 
was called out of the Chinese church one Sunday to go 
to him in an inn, where he had tried to commit suicide by 
cutting his arm with a razor. His Chinese servant had 
bound it up and sent for me, and was watching over him. 
He had not slept for four or five nights and was in terrible 
excitement and fear, suffering from delusional insanity. 
I at once brought him over to our house, and we arranged 
a room for him in the hospital. 

Under sedatives his excitement gradually passed away, 
but the delusions continued and he was very difficult to 
manage. He believed that he was a spy, who had in some 
way done great harm to the Chinese, and that very soon 
he was to be taken to the execution ground and killed, 
and with him all who helped him. The slightest noise 
of footsteps made him tremble. " They have come to 
take me!" he would say. There was imminent risk 
that he might attack someone or kill himself, and in the 
excited condition of the public mind, this was a general 
even more than a personal danger. For some days he 
had to be watched constantly, the various members of 
our little missionary circle taking it in turn to try to 
converse with him, take him short walks, and divert his 
mind. To our great relief he gradually calmed down 
sufficiently to be sent off by boat to Newchwang, and 
afterwards he returned to Germany. 

As days passed by and no reliable news of a Chinese 
victory came to reassure the public mind, the excitement 
and fear in Moukden were great. In vain were false 



GRIM REALITY: CHINO-JAPANESE WAR 95 

reports of victory circulated to allay the alarm. The 
trouble grew and stirred, and the wildest rumours were 
circulated. It was said that two hundred British soldiers 
were concealed in our hospital compound, or, according 
to some, in the tower of the church. Some officers called 
on my assistant to find out if this was true, and he 
showed them all over the premises to see for themselves. 
The better-class inhabitants began to leave in large 
numbers, some by the long overland route through the 
Great Wall into China proper, others by boat to New- 
chwang, there to find steamers or junks. 

The question was now raised whether it was wise for 
foreigners to remain in Moukden. We were most un- 
willing to leave unless it should be absolutely necessary, 
and were we all to go at once it would likely cause a 
panic, for the people watched us closely, knowing that we 
had more reliable news than they. On the other hand, 
travelling by road to Newchwang was impossible, boats 
are docked for the winter early in November, and after 
that retreat would be cut off. Finally it was decided 
that ladies, children, and most of the men should at once 
begin to leave in detachments, taking with them valuables 
and necessaries for the winter. All Moukden was pre- 
paring to take refuge in the northern and eastern hills, 
and if once the exodus began, carts to the river would 
be unobtainable. Our colleagues in Liaoyang had already 
left, that city continuing in a very disturbed condition, 
and missionaries from the north also were all on their way 
down. 

Our medical work now diminished rapidly ; the 
women's hospital was empty, the men's not half full. 
The Governor-General again issued a proclamation 
commending us, and the rumours died down for a time, 
but it was only the lull before the storm. On the evening 
of 25 October I called on an official friend named Gao, 
the son of my old friend the Tao-tai, already mentioned. 
From him I heard privately that a telegram had just 



96 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

arrived, that the Japanese had crossed the Yalu by night, 
that the Chinese had been defeated in a battle on Man- 
churian soil, and were driven from the chief fortified city 
of that region, and that the Japanese were marching on 
Feng-huang-cheng, the ancient Phoenix city. He advised 
strongly that the two of us who still remained should go 
to Newchwang without delay, as the Chinese army was 
quite unable to stay the advance of the Japanese, and 
there would soon be in Moukden a rabble of retreating 
soldiers whom no one could control. 

On the morning of the 28th the news of defeat became 
known, and the city was in excitement bordering on 
panic, so we delayed no longer. Reliable men were left 
in charge both in the church and in the hospital, and our 
assistants felt safer without our presence. There was 
also a watchman for each house, but we felt it likely that 
they would be looted if not burned before we could 
return. With some difficulty we got carts to take us to 
the river, where few boats were now to be seen. Had we 
waited much longer we should have been shut in for the 
winter. 

It was not only in Moukden that people were fleeing in 
hundreds from the impending trouble. When we reached 
Newchwang we found that junks and steamers were all 
crowded with refugees. Soon the junks ceased, and 
steamers became few. One day the last steamer on the 
river, when about to leave, was besieged by a struggling 
crowd of native boats. The passenger accommodation 
was already full, but the determined travellers swarmed 
up ropes and boathooks and crowded the decks, the roofs 
of the deckhouses, even the masts and rigging, to the 
number of about three thousand, until bluejackets from 
the foreign gunboats forced them back to their boats. 

The Japanese were steadily advancing and occupying 
one town after another — Port Arthur, Kaichow, Haicheng. 
Some towns and villages were destroyed, scores of inno- 
cent people being killed, and hundreds left homeless at 



GRIM REALITY: CHINO -JAPANESE WAR 97 

the beginning of the rigorous winter. In other cases, 
Haicheng for instance, the battle was fought at some 
distance, and the Chinese army fled to re-form again to 
the north or west, leaving the city unprotected. The 
civil magistrate of Haicheng quietly withdrew next day 
after opening the two city gates on the Japanese side, and 
they entered without firing a shot. But this official was, 
according to law, degraded for not preventing the 
Japanese entrance. My friend Gao, who had warned us 
to leave Moukden, was appointed magistrate of Kaichow. 
He knew the Japanese would take the city and that he 
would have no soldiers to defend it, so he feigned illness, 
and asked for two months' leave of absence before taking 
up his appointment. He too was afterwards degraded, 
as if he had deliberately given up his city to the enemy, 
and he never received another appointment. 

All through the war couriers continued to make their 
way between the principal cities, so that we kept in touch 
with Moukden. Each fresh tidings of defeat caused 
panic there. Half the population fled, household property 
was sold for a song, the military were occupying the city 
in thousands, and large stretches of country were over- 
run with marauding soldiers. Rewards were offered for 
the capture of any who helped the enemy, and innocent 
men were constantly seized and executed. Villages were 
deserted, those who could not flee north digging pits 
in the hillsides, where were concealed; she women and 
children and all movable property*. Many who tried to 
flee were waylaid^ by robbers, deserters from the army, 
their carts seize*!,; the men killed, the women and children 
carried off. The dumb suffering of the country people 
as that winter dragged on will never be known. 

To us in Newchwang the fighting drew ever nearer, 
until one beautiful peaceful winter Sunday a new sound 
came into our ears, never again to be forgotten. The sky 
was intense blue, the sunshine radiant, mere living seemed 
good and evil non-existent, when from the unseen 



98 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

distance across the plain there came, low but distinct, 
a dull insistent booming, the sound of cannon fired to kill. 
It seemed as if clouds ought to veil the sun, the blue should 
change to grey, but all day it continued — the pitiless 
blue, the mocking sunshine, the relentless hollow roar 
which announced that moment by moment our fellow- 
men were being mangled and torn. Since then we have 
become accustomed to it. There were other battles much 
nearer to Newchwang, we were wakened before dawn by 
cannon roar, our windows shook as the shells screamed 
over our heads, and in the war ten years later we lived 
in Moukden for months with that sound in our ears. But 
nothing ever brought that sense of awe, that vivid realiza- 
tion of the incongruity, the unhumanness of war, as did 
that dull distant booming which broke upon the Sabbath 
calm. 



XII 



AMONG THE WOUNDED 

" When the days were torment, and the nights were clouded terror, 
When the Powers of Darkness had dominion on our soul, 
When we fled consuming through the Seven Hells of fever, 

These put out their hands to us, and healed and made us whole." 

Budyard Kipling. 

IN the Chinese army of 1894-5 no provision was made 
for the wounded. Where a man fell, there he lay, to 
die of slow starvation or the more merciful cold. With 
a temperature many degrees below zero, one night was 
enough. If the wounded man was fortunate enough to 
find some place of refuge, or if his comrades carried him 
under shelter, it was often only a more lingering death, 
for no one could treat his wounds. 

As the scene of war drew nearer to Newchwang, efforts 
were made to establish a Red Cross hospital there. 
Ambulance work was impossible, but with the approval 
of the Chinese magistrate an inn was rented, put in order, 
and opened on 3 December. At first the wounded came 
by twos and threes, but the news spread rapidly through 
the army, the early cases cured did much to establish 
confidence, and the proportion of wounded who came 
under our care increased with each fight, so that a second 
inn had to be rented. When a battle was fought in 
January at Kaichow, twenty -five miles away, the wounded 
continued to arrive for three days, 169 being admitted. 

There were fortunately eight medical men in New- 
chwang at this time. Dr. Daly, the medical officer of the 
port, took general charge of the Red Cross work, and its 

99 



100 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

success was largely due to his able and energetic ad- 
ministration. He was assisted by the doctors of the two 
gunboats, American and British, and five medical 
missionaries, and non-medical help was also freely given. 
One of my medical students had come down in November, 
another got through the lines later, and they were 
invaluable all through. A Red Cross Society had been 
formed in Shangai, which liberally met all expenses. 

Our " hospitals " were far from satisfactory, being 
dark and dilapidated, with low roofs, and crevices in their 
mud walls through which wind and snow found a ready 
entrance. Their sanitary condition could not have been 
worse, and operations were performed in small dark 
rooms which no amount of cleaning could make clean. 
Our medical supplies ran very low, communication with 
the outer world being practically cut off. We had to use 
native cotton-wool, and the ladies helped by making 
bandages and surgical dressings. 

On 24 February a battle was known to be going on 
ten or twelve miles to the east. Our hospitals were full 
from previous fighting, but we emptied them of all con- 
valescents in preparation for new arrivals. This time the 
Chinese General sent the wounded direct to us, so that the 
rush was far beyond our anticipation. It would have 
been still greater, but that the temperature that night was 
10° Fahr. below zero, and many died of cold. The scene in 
the hospitals next day was beyond description. The 
compounds were crowded with farmers' carts and animals 
hired by the officers, while many serious cases arrived in 
improvised fitters, baskets, and chairs. Some were 
already beyond our aid. Dead were lifted from the 
carts as well as living. One man died at the door, others 
within an hour of admission. By evening our two hospi- 
tals, and even every outhouse, were crowded out. Early 
next morning a third inn was rented, then a fourth, but 
while these were being put in order the overcrowding was 
terrible. The hangs were packed with double rows of 



AMONG THE WOUNDED 101 

wounded, as close as they could lie, and we had to pick our 
way along the mud floors, stepping over the poor fellows 
lying on heaps of straw. 

Every available foreigner was pressed into the service, 
valuable assistance being rendered by the officers and men 
of the British gunboat " Firebrand." Our operating- 
rooms were busy from morning to night, and in the wards 
the work of dressing was carried on by Customs officials, 
pilots, business men, seamen, and missionaries. 

While to us the hospitals seemed miserable dens, to the 
men themselves they were havens of rest. They had seen 
comrade after comrade die on the frozen ground, or lie 
groaning in some wretched hovel without medicine, 
comforts, help, or even sufficient food. Here they had a 
warm Jcang, kind attention, soothing medicine, good food 
if they could eat it, and surgical aid. It did not matter 
how crowded the room was, nor how foul the smells, nor 
how unskilled the nurses, to them the Red Cross hospital 
was heaven. 

Things were gradually getting into order in our inn- 
hospitals, and the patients being made more comfortable 
day by day, when on 5 March the news spread that the 
Japanese were coming. Old Newchwang, thirty miles 
to the north, had fallen the day before, after an exception- 
ally fierce and bloody fight, and it seemed as if the Port 
of Newchwang would be surrounded, so the Chinese army 
was being withdrawn and concentrated at Tienchuang- 
tai, ten miles away to our north-west. 

The people, in great fear and excitement, made what 
little preparations they fancied might serve to conciliate 
the Japanese. Here was a rough signboard with " enG- 
LisH HOusE " printed on it, there in large Chinese 
characters the words " foreign religion," and many a 
red cross was painted on boards or sewn on flags. In the 
main street we noticed a very conspicuous Red Cross'flag 
over what was manifestly an opium-den. The owner 
emphatically protested his right to fly it, as he had been 



102 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

in the service of a foreign doctor years before. It was 
pathetic to see a little mud hut with poor tattered paper 
windows, and some half -naked children huddling at the 
door, to watch their father put up a stick with a bit of 
dirty cotton at the end, on which were sewn some scraps 
of red in the rough form of a cross. 

" What is it f or ? " we ask him. 

" To protect us when the foreigners come." 

" But what does it mean ? What is the red cross 
for ? " 

" Who knows ? They say foreigners won't touch you 
if you have that." 

In the Red Cross hospital itself there was little con- 
fidence in the protection of the flag. Panic seized our 
patients. They were convinced that the Japanese would 
kill them all. In spite of our assurances and entreaties, 
very many fled during the night of the 5th and the 
following morning. Fortunately the majority of these 
had only slight wounds, or were convalescent, but a few 
serious cases hired bearers to carry them on stretchers. 
Some of them must have died by the way. One man was 
taken nearly ten miles, but hearing that the Japanese 
were quite near, the bearers fled, leaving him helpless by 
the roadside. After six days of agony and privation he 
succeeded in getting back to us. 

Early in the morning of the 6th I went to our hospitals, 
now half empty, to help to pacify the terrified patients 
who remained, and prevent more from going. We vacated 
the two more recently occupied inns, concentrating in the 
original two, and put up very large and conspicuous 
Red Cross flags. Newchwang was by this time almost 
clear of soldiers, the magistrate and his guard having fled 
in the night across the river on the breaking ice. No 
resistance was to be offered to the entrance of the 
Japanese, who could now from the housetops be seen 
approaching the open unguarded gates. 

Leaving the hospital during the forenoon, I made for 



AMONG THE WOUNDED 103 

my own home on the outskirts of the town. While 
crossing a piece of open ground, I suddenly heard the 
sharp report of rifle-fire quite near, and three Japanese 
scouts came quickly round the corner of a house. In- 
stantly they levelled their guns at me. I stood still and 
shouted to them, holding up my hands to show I was 
unarmed. Slowly they lowered their rifles, then nodded 
and laughed and ran on, firing down a street at a few 
Chinese soldiers who had been tardy in making their 
escape. As they ran they looked all round apprehen- 
sively, till they disappeared in the direction of the gate 
outside which we had seen the approaching army. 

An hour later the Japanese quietly occupied New- 
chwang. It was the first thaw of spring. Until a few days 
before it had been bitterly cold, but now in warm sunshine 
we watched the men struggling through deep slush, with 
their heavy winter overcoats thrown open. From every 
house curious eyes were peering, and before long some, 
bolder than their fellows, offered the conquerors drinks 
of hot water or tea, according to the degree of their 
poverty. Newchwang breathed a sigh of relief : all was 
over, the town was taken, and nothing dreadful had 
happened. 

On the afternoon of the same day there was a sudden 
crash of cannon very near us, the scream of shells over our 
heads, the bursting of shrapnel in the air. A Chinese fort 
a couple of miles off had opened fire on the Japanese on the 
plain. Their aim was most uncertain ; indeed they were 
almost as likely to strike the town itself as the enemy, and 
for a few hours while the artillery duel lasted there was 
much anxiety. But night fell, and after spiking their 
guns the plucky little garrison withdrew. 

The Chinese headquarters were now at Tienchuang-tai, 
ten miles off, on the other side of the River Liao. Here 
were gathered the broken remnants of the army, guarding 
a large store of munitions of war. We were awakened at 
dawn two days later by heavy cannonading, the Jap- 



104 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

anese attack on this position. Severe fighting continued 
all that day and part of the next, and then the Chinese 
fled. The Japanese fired the town, as it did not suit them 
to hold it, and all evening and for days afterwards the 
sky was black with the smoke of the burning. 

A few days later some of us visited the place. It had 
been a flourishing town with ten thousand inhabitants ; 
now there were but desolate ruins. Some houses were 
still smouldering, and the large fleet of hundreds of boats 
docked for the winter had shared in the conflagration. 
The streets were strewn with the slain, and fierce skeletons 
of dogs were prowling about and devouring the bodies. 
We found a few, very few, wounded hiding among the 
ruins. When the starving wretches saw that we were not 
Japanese, they crawled out from their holes, or hailed us, 
and we made arrangements for their conveyance to the 
Red Cross hospital. This was the last battle of the war. 

The Chino -Japanese war was one of the first where 
comparisons could be drawn between the wounds caused 
respectively by the old heavy leaden bullet and by the 
newer hard- jacketed bullet of small calibre and high 
velocity. The new type of rifle had recently been intro- 
duced into the Japanese army and was used at Ping-yang, 
but a good many regiments were still armed with the older 
weapon, which was responsible for most of the cases 
treated in Newchwang. I had therefore an opportunity 
of comparing the two, and published the results of my 
observations at the time in the medical journals. 

During the few months of the existence of this Red Cross 
hospital over a thousand wounded were admitted. 
In spite of the unfavourable conditions, the mortality 
was remarkably low. Most of the deaths were cases 
where pieces of dirty wadded clothing had been carried 
into the wounds. In many of these, life might have been 
saved by prompt amputation ; but few were willing to 
submit until symptoms of septic absorption developed, 
when it was frequently too late. Not a few, when the 



AMONG THE WOUNDED 105 

alternative was laid before them, calmly but firmly de- 
cided to die. Many of the wounded were also severely 
frost-bitten. One had a bullet wound which healed 
quickly, but he lost both feet, as they were frozen before 
he was found lying unconscious. 

The good results of the Red Cross work were not con- 
fined to the healing of wounds and saving of lives. A 
lasting impression was made on the minds of all who came 
in touch with it. Of direct Christian teaching there was 
necessarily little, but it was remarkable to see the number 
of convalescent patients who voluntarily attended the 
Sunday services in the Chinese church. Some months 
later several of these men were baptized, and one we 
still know as a prominent Christian in a church in a neigh- 
bouring province. Hundreds took away at least some 
knowledge of the religion of Christ, hundreds more a 
friendly and grateful respect for the foreigner whom they 
formerly hated and despised. 

The Chinese officials publicly recognized the Red 
Cross, and showed readiness to help. In February the 
chief magistrate of Newchwang telegraphed at my request 
to the Governor-General in Moukden and to my assistant, 
Mr. Wei, as I wished more of my students to come, and 
this was impossible without protection. Carts, money 
for the journey, and a military escort were provided by 
the Governor-General. Unfortunately, when half-way, 
the fall of Newchwang compelled the party to return. 

In the early months of the war the coming of the 
Japanese was universally regarded with terror. Many 
hundreds faced the known dangers of flight rather than 
the unknown horrors of falling into the hands of the 
enemy. In spring their successful conquest of many 
miles of populous country was accepted by these same 
people with equanimity. This change of attitude was the 
result of the unexpected mercifulness and equity of the 
Japanese rule. At first there were many excesses ; people 
were summarily turned out of their homes, property was 



106 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

seized without payment, furniture was used for fuel, and 
for women it was never safe. But as time went on the 
soldiers were kept more strictly in hand, and when civil 
governors were appointed over towns, people found them- 
selves under a just and orderly government. 

Newchwang was specially fortunate in its administrator. 
Complaints were promptly attended to, justice im- 
partially administered. A few cases where Japanese 
were punished for oppressing Chinese made a great im- 
pression. Sanitary conditions were improved, road- 
making vigorously carried on, lamps erected on the 
main streets. In several other large towns the administra- 
tion was of the same benevolent, just, and enlightened 
nature. 

The acquiescence of the people was helped by their 
bitter resentment against their own Government, especi- 
ally Li Hung Chang, who was universally believed to 
have " sold the country." Stories were common, with 
what foundation it is impossible to say, of shells filled 
with sand instead of explosives, of hundreds of boxes full 
of cartridges which were practically blank, and of guns 
which would not fire. Certain it is that there were stores 
of cartridges which did not fit the rifles, and loads of 
rifles with no ammunition. 

Had all the Japanese been like the civil administrators 
the people might have been sorry to see them go. But 
there were others. Following the army as coolies, 
baggage carriers, etc., were a miscellaneous crowd of the 
very lowest class, who were regarded by the Chinese with 
contempt mingled with fear. Their uncouth garments 
and naked limbs called forth constant expressions of dis- 
gust. Drunkenness and other vices were common among 
them, and they were not under strict discipline like the 
soldiers. 

While the towns were well governed, the rural districts 
were practically without law. Robbers overran the 
country, many armed with magazine rifles. During the 



AMONG THE WOUNDED 107 

spring and summer months the River Liao swarmed with 
pirates, and travelling by road or river was most danger- 
ous. The whole land groaned for a settled government. 
Greatly exaggerated reports, however, were taken to 
Tientsin by the retreating soldiers. Newchwang was said 
to be burned, the country laid waste, the inhabitants 
massacred. The telegraph wires were cut, no mails had 
got through for weeks, there was no communication by 
sea as cold weather returned and the river remained 
frozen, so the truth could not be ascertained. 

Towards the end of March a British cruiser was sent 
as near to Newchwang as possible, to find out the fate of 
the foreigners. A steam-launch came as far up the river 
as the ice would allow, and landed a small party who 
walked six miles to the town carrying heavy bags of 
mails, our first news from the outer world for over a 
month. This welcome relief party was feted joyfully, 
and escorted to their launch with as heavy mail-bags as 
they brought. 

Peace was signed on 8 May. Manchuria was to be rent 
asunder, and the southern part to belong to Japan. 
Immediately thereafter came startling news : certain 
European Powers had interfered, Japan was to give up 
the conquered territory, receiving Formosa instead, 
South Manchuria was still to be Chinese, and Korea 
independent. 

It was some time before the country was sufficiently 
settled for anyone to return to the interior. Not until the 
end of July did we receive our passports, board our boats, 
disregarding pirates, and gladly sail away up the river. 
We had been prepared to have our houses looted, but when 
we entered them after nine months' absence they were 
absolutely untouched, even to a pair of scissors left 
carelessly on a mantelpiece. It was good to be back, with 
peace reigning once more. 

We found that our Red Cross work was well known 
to the Government. Mr. Wei was presented with a 



108 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

button of the fifth rank in return for his services to the 
wounded, and in recognition of all our hospital had done. 
Some time later the doctors who had taken a leading part 
in the Red Cross work received from the Emperor the 
decoration of the third grade of the Order of the Double 
Dragon. 

The Red Cross Society in Shanghai found itself now at 
the close of the war with a balance, out of which they 
made grants in aid to hospitals which had done Red 
Cross work. Fifteen hundred taels (about £240) was 
given to the Moukden hospital, with which an adjoining 
compound was purchased, a most necessary addition. 



XIII 



A STRANGE AFTERMATH OF WAR 

" Let us admit it fairly, as a business people should, 
We have had no end of a lesson ; it will do us no end of good." 

Rudyard Kipling. 

" For mankind springs salvation by each hindrance interposed." 

Sordello. 

IN many parts of China the war awakened no interest, 
and the great bulk of the people did not even know 
that China had been defeated. In Manchuria, and to a 
lesser degree in all North China, it was naturally far other- 
wise. Out of their contemptuous and deluded calm the 
people had been rudely shaken. Now, after months of 
mental earthquake, blind suffering, and terror, they were 
able to look about them again, to take stock of what had 
happened, to think of what it all meant. 

The foreigner had conquered them ! And it was not 
even the Western foreigner, who with all his barbarian 
ways had wonderful skill in mechanics, guns, surgery, 
and such -like ; but it was this neighbouring people who 
had always been their inferiors. Who were these Japs ? 
Mere savages, who had borrowed Chinese civilization, 
the Chinese written character, Chinese literature. And 
yet they had conquered China. What was the explana- 
tion ? It was because they had learned Western methods. 
Their soldiers were dressed in Western clothes, drilled 
Western drill, understood Western guns, followed Western 
ways. Of course, Chinese ways were really the best, but 

109 



110 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

evidently, if one wanted to get on nowadays, these new 
ways must be learned. 

Such questions were asked and such answers given in 
every village and hamlet the length and breadth of 
Manchuria. The country was shaken to its foundations. 
Never again could it sleep the sleep of the centuries. The 
people began to grope after light, but there was no one 
to lead them. Their nominal leaders, the officials, were 
unchanged, here and there a man whose eyes were open 
and who saw, but for the most part poorly informed 
conservative gentlemen, going on in the old ruts, averse 
to any novelty. The new Governor-General was an il- 
literate old Manchu soldier, who had commanded the 
forces guarding the mountains south and east of Liaoyang. 
The Japanese had not driven him back, and he believed 
that his prowess had served the country. For three 
years he remained in office, just at the time when the 
awakening aspirations of the best among the people 
would have welcomed an enlightened and progressive 
ruler. No improvement of any kind was made, in educa- 
tion or in any other direction. 

Left to themselves, most of the people were powerless 
to advance ; they talked, grumbled, and did nothing. 
Some joined secret anti-dynastic societies and discussed 
in private the woes of their country and the iniquities of 
officialdom. A Buddhist sect, the Tsai-li-ti, which was 
strictly vegetarian and bigotedly anti-foreign, also became 
popular. On the other hand, many read any modern or 
foreign translated books they could lay their hands on ; 
and wherever there was a Christian Church school, 
preaching-hall, or little gathering, numbers came to learn 
what " the foreign religion " was like, for they connected 
in some hazy way the foreign religion with the foreign 
victory. 

During the four years from 1896 to the spring of 1900, 
it was flood-tide for the Christian Church in Manchuria, 
a tide which gained strength year by year. The Church 



A STRANGE AFTERMATH OF WAR 111 

and the missionaries were embarrassed by the crowds 
seeking instruction. Village after village sent requests 
for evangelists and teachers : here were a hundred in- 
quirers, there two hundred. During 1896 over a hundred 
patients in our hospital gave in their names as desirous 
of entering the Church, and one after another returned to 
say that he had gathered a score of inquirers who were 
awaiting instruction. Books were sold by the thousand. 
In 1897 £200 worth of Scriptures and single books of the 
Bible were sold in Manchuria, and £300 worth of other 
Christian literature, in spite of the general illiteracy and 
poverty of a large proportion of the population. This 
means much more than the same sum in England, as an 
ordinary man's wage was 3s. or 3s. 6d. a week. 

Among the younger and more progressive officials 
Christian books were commonly read, and the general 
standpoint of the Christian Church began to be dimly 
understood. One day, when a case was being tried in 
Moukden, it came out that the man had been a Christian, 
but was so no longer. He evidently thought that having 
given up the foreign religion would be a point in his favour. 
Further evidence showed that he had been excommuni- 
cated from the Church. 

" Ah ! " said the magistrate, " if you had been a good 
man you would not have been put out of the Church ! 
Set that down against him." 

The thousands who wished to enter their names as 
" inquirers " on the Church lists may be divided broadly 
into four classes. There were many absolutely ignorant, 
with no idea of what Christianity really was. 

" Why do you want to enter the Church ? " they were 
asked. 

" They say it is a good thing," was a common answer, 
often representing the man's entire knowledge. Many 
such grew quickly tired of the instruction, and dropped 
off from sheer indolence of mind, saying that they " did 
not understand." But a good many others developed a 



112 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

genuine interest, became first candidates for baptism, 
and then members of the Church. 

Then there were those who knew a little about the 
Church, and regarded it as something like a Friendly 
Society. The members gathered to listen to good words 
on Sunday, and were bound to be kind to each other. 
They helped the poor and aged, and stood by each other 
in trouble, so that altogether it was a good society to 
belong to, seeing trouble comes so often. Many of these 
too learned the deeper meaning of things and ultimately 
entered the Church. 

There were also a large number of men who put down 
their names from more or less unworthy motives. Law- 
suits were usually decided largely according to the 
influence or money of the litigants. Now that the Church 
was strong and of good repute it had much influence, and 
could if it wished bring pressure to bear in settling dis- 
putes, either privately or in the courts. Specially would 
this be so if a foreigner could be persuaded to take up 
the matter and send his card to the official. The Roman 
Catholic Bishop and priests claimed the right to take part 
in any trial where one of their converts was concerned, 
and many of our people failed to understand why Pro- 
testants should not have equal privileges. The Buddhist 
sects too were always ready to help their members. 
There were many instances of men leaving in disgust 
after a few months' instruction, being finally convinced 
that, in spite of their conformance to the troublesome 
rules about attending services and renouncing gambling 
and opium, the foreigner did not mean to help them in 
their affairs. Some of the Christian elders did not at 
first agree with this policy of inaction. 

" If our brethren are in trouble, defrauded or accused 
wrongfully," they would argue, " and if we have the 
power to help them, should we not do it ? " And they very 
often did. 

Gradually, however, it became more and more evident 



A STRANGE AFTERMATH OF WAR 113 

to the Chinese as well as to ourselves, that the only way 
to keep the Church pure was to refuse to meddle in any 
way in such matters, whether right or wrong. The 
Presbyterial gatherings of the elders of the churches in 
Manchuria discussed these subjects, and finally the use 
of the name of the Church in litigation was unanimously 
condemned by them. There are throughout Manchuria 
to-day not a few zealous Christians who were first 
attracted to Christianity because of its supposed advan- 
tage in their worldly affairs. They came seeking a stone, 
and they found the Bread of Life. 

Besides those who came in ignorance or by mistake, 
there were a goodly number who had read Christian 
books, or talked with Christian friends, or watched the 
daily life of Christian neighbours, or spent some time in 
a hospital, and who had deliberately made up their 
minds that they would learn more of this Way, and walk 
in it. 

As the numbers increased of those seeking to join the 
Church, it became necessary to make the rules of entrance 
more stringent. No inquirer was enrolled as a cate- 
chumen or applicant for baptism until the evangelist in 
charge, or the " session " of the congregation, was satisfied 
that he was of good moral character, neither opium - 
smoker, gambler, nor in any way bringing shame on his 
profession ; that he understood what he was doing ; 
and that he had no worldly motive in becoming a Chris- 
tian. After being accepted as a candidate, a man must 
attend services and classes, and continue to prove 
himself sincere and consistent for nine months, then he 
might be baptized. In spite of all precautions, a good 
many were admitted who were a source of weakness to the 
Church. The rapid increase in numbers was not an un- 
mixed good. 

With this urgent demand everywhere for instruction, 
the insufficiency of trained Chinese workers became 
lamentably evident. Could their number at that time 



114 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

have been trebled, there would still have been more than 
enough for all to do. In looking back on those years we 
cannot but feel how very inadequately the great oppor- 
tunity was met. Many must have lost interest or 
dropped away because of the incapacity of the local 
Christians and evangelists to meet their needs. 

In spite of all drawbacks, the mixed motives of in- 
quirers, the difficulty of detecting insincerity, the in- 
sufficiency of evangelists both in number and in educa- 
tion — the advance of the Christian Church in every way 
was by leaps and bounds. In 1896 the membership was 
5788, with 6300 on the lists of applicants, not including 
the many " inquirers " whose names had not yet been 
accepted. A year later there were 10,255 members and 
9442 candidates. At the end of 1899 the numbers were 
19,646, and over 7000. The growth in independence, 
self-support, and management of Church matters by the 
Chinese themselves was equally rapid. Chapels were 
built without foreign help, preachers were supported 
by their people, Christian schools were started and 
financed. The' amount contributed by the Christians 
for such objects in 1896 was £261 ; in 1899 it was £2000. 
One congregation after another was formed, and elected 
elders who attended the meetings of Presbytery, where 
rules for Church government were decided, and the 
business of the Church transacted. 

At the same time there was a new development of the 
sense of personal individual responsibility for influencing 
others, and a marked increase in the number and in- 
telligence of women members. It had never been directly 
through foreign missionaries that any large number of 
Chinese in Manchuria became Christians, nor even 
principally through the preaching of outstanding Chinese 
leaders. The chief factor in attracting men was and is 
the quiet personal influence of humble unlettered folk, 
and the patient line upon line instruction given by obscure 
evangelists. 



A STRANGE AFTERMATH OF WAR 115 

It was obvious that the most urgent needs of the time 
were a well-trained Christian pastorate and a supply of 
capable evangelists. Missionaries did not take up the 
position of pastors of congregations. They considered 
it the right of the Church to have men of their own race 
as pastors and spiritual leaders, the foreigner keeping 
himself in the background as adviser and friend. Up till 
now there was but one native pastor in Manchuria, 
supported by and ministering to the Moukden congrega- 
tion. Comparatively few Christians were of the cultured 
class, so that preachers of real education were uncommon ; 
some who came to be trained could not write, and some 
were even poor readers. There had been for long a 
regular system of training for these men, courses of 
lectures, books prescribed for study, annual examinations. 
Most of them were genuinely in earnest in their work, 
and it was sometimes found that the least cultured were 
the most successful in winning and guiding men. Some- 
thing more, however, was needed for the Pastorate. 
Systematic Theological Training was now arranged by the 
two missions, Scottish and Irish unitedly, a number of 
the best evangelists forming the first class. At the same 
time there was increased provision for lecturing, at 
several different centres, to evangelists and any members 
who attended voluntarily ; and at the annual examina- 
tions about 120 presented themselves. 

At the close of the war, the Danish Lutheran Church 
sent a number of missionaries to work in the Liaotung 
Peninsula, from Port Arthur and Dalny northwards. 
There too the general awakening was felt, though to a 
lesser extent. 

The hospital work in Moukden had its share in the 
increasing prosperity, and numbers grew rapidly. A 
separate women's hospital and dispensary were estab- 
lished in 1897 under two lady doctors, and the staffs of 
both institutions had their hands full. 



XIV 

THE STORY OF BLIND CHANG OF THE VALLEY 
OF PEACE 

" Doth God exact day-labour, light denied ? " 

Sonnet, Milton 

" Doing the King's work all the dim day long." 

R. Browning. 

IN a small hamlet in the remote Valley of Peace, there 
lived many years ago a man of the name of Chang, 
well known in the neighbourhood as a gambler and bad 
character, and also as a member of an earnest Buf hist 
sect, distinguished by their keen search for Truth. Blind- 
ness having come upon him, he heard with interest of a 
foreign doctor in Moukden who could restore sight. 
Chang was an exceptional man, of great strength of 
character, and in spite of the fears, warnings, and mockery 
of the neighbours, he sold his belongings, tied up his 
money in a cloth, and started on his quest. But the road 
was long and dangerous, and when still several days from 
his goal robbers fell upon him and took from him his 
treasured hoard. Still he struggled on, but illness 
attacked him, and he reached our Moukden gate at last, a 
pitiable wreck. 

Our small tumble-down hospital was already over- 
crowded, and there was not a corner for him, so he was 
given medicine and told to go to an inn until there was 
room. With pathetic vehemence he pled his cause, the 
120 weary miles he had walked, how ill he was, how his 
money was all gone. At last the hospital preacher 

116 



THE STORY OF BLIND CHANG 117 

offered to give him his bed, and so Blind Chang was 
received. 

His eyes were incurable, only a little glimmer of light 
being restored, but this seemed of small import to 
him, for during the month he was with us a flood of 
light illumined his inner vision. From the first day he 
listened with absorbed interest to what was told him of 
Him in whose name the hospital was opened. 

"This is just what I have been seeking for years," he 
exclaimed, as he drank in with avidity all that was said. 
It seemed as if his mind had been ready waiting for it, 
and before many days he began to preach eloquently 
to the other patients. It is not often that the story of 
the Saviour meets with such joyful acceptance, nor 
His claims with such immediate whole-hearted loyalty. 
It was not unlike the man of old : " See, here is water, 
what doth hinder me to be baptized ? " But the cautious 
rules of the Church enacted that he must be tested first. 
He must return to his home and make known his new 
faith, and he would be visited there later on. Much 
disappointed, he betook himself once more to the northern 
road, and was lost sight of. 

Six months later, Rev. James Webster took his journey 
to the north, and from a town on the main road set out 
to look for the Valley of Peace. It was difficult to find, 
and the road was bad. 

" We came to a place," writes Mr. Webster, " where 
it seemed impossible for the cart to cross. The carter 
talked of giving it up, so I dismounted and proceeded 
on foot, well assured that the cart would follow me 
somehow. When at last I reached the village, I was 
led with much ceremony into the house of Mr. Li, the 
village schoolmaster. We drank a cup of tea, he telling 
me the while tidings which made me forget all hunger 
and weariness, to the effect that when Blind Chang 
came home from Moukden he began to tell the people 
about this religion of Jesus, going from village to village, 



118 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

and into as many houses as received him, and in the 
evenings preaching sometimes to hundreds under the 
shade of the willow trees ; how at first everybody 
laughed at him, or thought him crazed, and pitied 
him; — ('It's all very well for him to reform,' they 
said, ' for he cannot gamble without eyes.') — how, 
when he still went on preaching and giving practical 
proofs of having undergone a change, people got 
divided about him. Some were for him, some against 
him ; some blessed him, some cursed him ; in short, 
the whole countryside was in an uproar. Week after 
week passed, Chang daily praying his prayer for help 
from on high and singing his one hymn learned in 
Moukden, and then sallying forth, groping his darkened 
way with his staff, to tell of Jesus the Son of God. 
' And the upshot of all this is,' said Mr. Li, ' that 
there is a large number of people earnestly inquiring 
about the doctrine, and several are thoroughly con- 
vinced, and heartily believe, and desire to become 
members of the religion of Jesus.' 

" But where was the blind man all the while ? He 
had gone to visit one of the inquirers, and I had missed 
him on the way. Mr. Li left his school and accompanied 
me. At last we met, and I accosted Chang. He stood 
stock still for a moment, and then his face became 
perfectly radiant with joy, and great tears dropped 
from his eyes as he said in a voice quivering with 
emotion : 

" ' Pastor ! you promised, and I always said you 
would come ! ' 

" We directed our steps to the inquirer's house, 
talking as we went of all that had taken place. The 
few remaining hours of light were occupied in speaking 
to the household of old and young who had gathered, 
answering questions, and instructing inquirers. When 
it was time to retire, the inquirer, the blind man, and 
the evangelist who accompanied me began to talk. 
All manner of questions were started and discussed, 
and difficulties explained. Midnight, the small hours 
of the morning passed, and at last I fell asleep in the 



THE STORY OF BLIND CHANG 119 

midst of a discussion of Confucianism as compared 
with Christianity. Whether the three ever slept I do 
not know, but the first thing I was conscious of was 
shrill voices in earnest converse, as on the previous 
night. We had a crowded house all day. I met each 
applicant for baptism privately, and I have seldom 
had more satisfaction than with these men. Nine were 
baptized, headed by their blind guide." 

At this time Chang was able to see light, but unfortu- 
nately he trusted himself to a native doctor, who promised 
to cure him by piercing the eye with needles, with the not 
unnatural result of complete blindness. Some time later 
arrangements were made for him to join the School for 
the Blind at Peking, under Mr. Murray. Here he spent 
three months learning to read and write, and then 
returned to his valley with his books in embossed type. 
Crowds gathered round him to see the marvel of a blind 
man reading with the tips of his fingers, and what he read 
he explained and enforced with fluent eloquence. He had 
a marvellous memory, and as the years went on he laid 
aside his cumbrous volumes and recited the Scriptures by 
heart. He knew the entire New Testament, chapter and 
verse by number, and a good deal of the Old. When a 
text was announced — say 2 Corinthians ix. 6 — he would 
at once begin to repeat the words from that exact verse. 
He meditated on the Scriptures constantly, bringing forth 
wonderful new interpretations of his own, and was 
neither pleased nor convinced when the missionaries did 
not agree with these. 

Chang's personal devotion to Christ, his loyalty and 
zeal in making Him known to others, his untiring energy 
in instructing converts in the elements of the faith, were 
unequalled. He was a difficult man to work with or con- 
trol, but his very weaknesses seemed to contribute to the 
spread of the Light. His was a restless spirit, hating to be 
tied down. The missionary who had engaged him as an 
evangelist might leave him in charge of a certain district, 



120 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

to preach and instruct there, but on returnnig a few 
months later would find him gone. Some inward impulse 
had led him, he had cast aside his stated duties, and set 
forth to some distant town or village, there anew to 
gather crowds of hearers and inquirers. Thus he wan- 
dered, staying a few weeks here, a month or two there, and 
then returning to the work he had undertaken. Wherever 
he went he left behind him a knot of interested inquirers. 
He did not seem capable of giving prolonged systematic 
instruction, but the seed he sowed seemed to live in the 
hearts of his hearers. 

" If Chang Shen had not lost his sight," said one of the 
Christians of that wide district, " there would have been 
no Church here." 

One of his wanderings was to a remote valley, a hundred 
miles from the Valley of Peace, among the mountains in 
the far east which had formed the Imperial Hunting 
Grounds. These were opened to settlers, one of whom 
was a relation of Chang's. To seek him out the blind man 
took this long journey. Here again he gathered a group 
of converts, and the history of the Valley of Peace was 
repeated. In answer to his summons two missionaries 
travelled for days across a sparsely populated region 
where the name of Christ was quite unknown, and found 
in the distant " Valley of Victory " a little group of 
believers asking for baptism. Some time later Blind 
Chang went again to this valley and was asked to remain 
there. He received no salary, and was under no one's 
orders, but moved about from house to house receiving 
his food wherever he happened to be, and the women 
provided his clothes. 

For two years no foreigner could visit nor communicate 
with the valley, owing to the Chino -Japanese war, 
brigandage, and other causes. At the end of that time 
there were in the district four distinct meeting-places 
where worship was held regularly, and a Christian school. 
One of the earliest of these Valley of Victory believers 



THE STORY OF BLIND CHANG 121 

is now an ordained Pastor over a congregation in a 
neighbouring valley, which supports him entirely, and 
there are several other self-supporting congregations in 
the district. 

A special feature of Chang's work was his instruction 
of women and children. While the men were working in 
the fields, the women were cooking and sewing and grind- 
ing corn in the homes, and he sat and talked to them and 
the children as a sighted man could not have been 
allowed to do. Then when going about the country the 
boys were always ready to act as his guides, and as they 
went he talked. A good many members of the Christian 
Church to-day look back on these talks on the mountain- 
paths as the very foundation of their life. Chang must have 
been the means of personally leading to the faith many 
hundred individuals, but his work was now nearly done. 

It was the summer of the fateful 1900, fourteen years 
from that evening when a blind, sick, and penniless man 
moved our compassion at the Moukden hospital gate. 
Chang was again in the Valley of Victory when the 
Boxer storm broke. It is a mountainous region where the 
concealment of individuals is not difficult, and he being 
a marked man was hidden away in the recesses of the 
hills, the faithful people sending him food. The band of 
Boxers, exasperated at losing their most conspicuous 
prey, threatened not only to kill the Christians, but to 
lay waste the whole valley with fire and sword. At last 
someone told Chang, and at once he came forth from his 
hiding-place and let himself be taken prisoner. He was 
brought to a neighbouring town whose headmen were 
allied with the Boxers, and in a temple was ordered to 
worship the idols or die. 

" I can only worship the one living and true God." 

" But we will kill you." 

" That is of no importance, I shall rise again." 

" Will you not repent of your wickedness in following 
the foreigner ? " 



122 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

" I have repented of all my sins." 

" Then you will believe in Buddha ? " 

" No, I believe in my Lord Jesus Christ," and he 
began to preach to them. 

Afraid to kill him themselves, his captors sent some 
distance for some Boxers, and for three days Chang lay 
in prison. Then he was bound and taken through the 
town in an open cart, the Christians following behind, 
and marvelling at his fortitude as he joyfully sang the 
old hymn learned in the Moukden hospital, " Jesus loves 
me, this I know." Outside the town, in front of the 
temple, he was made to kneel down. " Heavenly Father, 
receive my spirit," he prayed. But still the sword tarried. 
A second and a third time he prayed, saying the same 
words. Then " they gnashed on him with their teeth, 
and cried out with a loud voice, and ran upon him with 
one accord," attacking him from behind with their 
swords, and cutting him to pieces. 

When the deed was done, the superstitious fears of the 
murderers began to work. He was a blind man, and 
therefore specially under the protection of spirits and 
demons. And what did he mean by " rising again " ? 
To prevent such a possibility they burned his body, and 
scattered the ashes on the mountain streams. Still their 
fears were not laid. He was a good man, so much so that 
he might become a god. His ghost was said to be haunt- 
ing the place, and the Boxers departed precipitately, 
leaving the Christians of that district unharmed. 

Some years later the Government erected a monument 
to Chang's memory in the county town of that district, 
but none marks the resting-place of his ashes, for they are 
scattered afar, fit emblem of the Gospel he loved to 
preach. Indeed, he and the other martyrs have already 
" risen again," in the many churches and little Christian 
gatherings which have sprung up all over Manchuria 
since that terrible Boxer summer. 



XV 



MISDIRECTED PATRIOTISM 

" Who is here so vile that will not love his country ? " 

Julius Caesar. 

" My large kingdom for a grave ! 
A little, little grave, an obscure grave." 

King Richard II. 

WHEN the war with Japan was over, Manchuria and 
all China expected to settle down again just as 
before, while many of her more vigorous sons sought to 
nurture a gradual and quiet reform from within, which 
might in time work upwards to the Government, and out- 
wards to the whole nation. But this was not to be. The 
war had set many conflicting forces in motion, its conse- 
quences have been multiplying ever since, and none can 
foretell the end. 

Simultaneous with the striking growth of the Christian 
Church in Manchuria, and with the new interest in science 
and in all things foreign, were development in other direc- 
tions. Manchuria did not greatly concern herself at that 
time with what went on in Peking or elsewhere, but she 
soon had it brought home to her in her own borders that 
things could never be the same again. Russian diplomacy 
prevented Japan from retaining possession of Southern 
Manchuria, and Li Hung Chang, said by his enemies to be 
in Russia's pay, could hardly refuse to negotiate a Treaty 
which expressed China's gratitude in a practical way. 
All Russia asked at first was to be allowed to run the 
Siberian railway across the north of Manchuria. That was 
the beginning. 

123 



124 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

In Moukden little was heard of it for some time. 
Russian engineers surveyed and made maps and went 
away again, and it was reported that they were making a 
railway over the desert mountains in the far north. 
Gradually people grew accustomed to Russian visits, 
but when the news spread that Port Arthur and Ta-lien- 
wan (Dalny) had been " leased " to Russia, and that the 
railway was to run right through the heart of Manchuria, 
there was much fierce indignation, and cursing of Li 
Hung Chang. The seizure of Kiao-chou in Shantung by the 
Germans shortly before, hardly noticed at the time, and 
the occupation of Wei-hai-wei by Britain which followed, 
assumed importance in men's eyes, enlightened as they 
were by Russia's action in their midst. Parts of the 
country were being stolen on all hands, and a bitterness 
against foreigners grew and fermented in the minds of 
many in Manchuria, as well as all over Northern China. 

There were thus two streams of feeling and impulse 
developing at the same time. Both had their origin in 
the first conscious stirrings of that patriotism which had 
lain dormant in the Chinese mind, but was roused by the 
humiliation of the defeat by Japan. Both were intensified 
by the actions of the European Powers. 

On the one hand were those who realized China's 
weakness, and who sought to learn everything possible 
from Western nations, in order ultimately to be able to 
resist with success all unjust aggression, and to stand 
unashamed before the world, a strong, independent 
China. 

On the other hand were those in whom resentment of 
foreign treatment of China grew to a passion, who blindly 
hated all foreigners, good or bad, and all their works, and 
who were willing to go to any length to rid their country of 
what they regarded as an incubus which caused all her 
troubles. 

Between these were the old, the timid, the conservative, 
the unadventurous, and the great inarticulate mass of the 



MISDIRECTED PATRIOTISM 125 

common people, working for their daily bread, asking for 
nothing but to be allowed to earn it in peace and security, 
and recking little of what foreign Powers or their own 
Government might do. 

For a time it seemed as if the forces that made for 
Reform were to have the ascendancy. The war was hardly 
over when the Emperor commanded the construction of 
railways from Shanghai to Nanking, and from Tientsin to 
near Peking, and instructed his ministers to further the 
study of Western science throughout the country. Later 
on a railway to Hankow was sanctioned, and in 1898 the 
establishment of a University at Peking on foreign lines, 
with foreign professors. The Emperor was privately 
studying the Bible and other books, Christian and 
scientific, and insisted on close personal intercourse with 
a number of progressive Reformers, such as had hardly 
been granted previously to the highest Ministers of 
State. The anti-foreign agitation following on the 
seizure of the three seaports, Kiao-chou, Port Arthur, and 
Wei-hai-wei, he answered by a vigorous Imperial Edict 
for the protection of missionaries, in which the officials 
were instructed to see that his Christian subjects did not 
suffer for their faith. Many among the younger officials, 
literati, merchants, and gentry followed the example of 
the Emperor. There was a great demand for all kinds of 
Christian literature, and books on History, Political 
Economy, and Science. Newspapers sprang up with an 
enormous circulation, where previously few had cared to 
know what was happening outside their own neighbour- 
hood. 

Then came the momentous and fatal month of Sep- 
tember, 1898. 

For three crowded weeks there poured forth a series 
of most remarkable Edicts. Education was to be modern- 
ized, science and other subjects introduced into the 
stereotyped examinations for degrees, temples turned 
into schools, a University and Middle Schools established 



126 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

at once, and study abroad encouraged. The throne was 
to be freely memorialized even by the common people ; 
annual financial statements of Government income and 
expenditure were to be published ; and law-court reform 
inaugurated. Finally the question of a National Parlia- 
ment was raised, and it was also suggested that the nation 
should abandon the ordinary Chinese dress, and the 
fashion of wearing a queue, imposed by the Manchus. 

The Emperor, born and bred in absolute seclusion and 
knowing nothing of the world outside his palace except 
from books, revealed himself to his people as an earnest 
and radical Reformer, and the hearts of thousands leaped 
to meet his. But the millions remained untouched, for 
the customs of centuries are iron chains. It is a sad story. 
We cannot but wonder what would have been the history 
of the subsequent years had the Emperor and his advisers 
been more worldly-wise, content to " hasten slowly." 

As it was, the old Empress -Dowager took alarm ; it 
was not for this she had yielded the reins of power. 
There was a short, sharp struggle between Reform and Re- 
action, and Reaction gained the day. During the fourth 
week of September all the Reform Edicts were repealed, 
six of the most promising and enlightened of the young 
patriots of China were summarily executed, others fled 
to foreign lands, and the Emperor himself was immured 
in a living grave, from which he issued only at stated times 
to give mechanical outward support to the absolute rule 
of the Empress -Dowager. It was a beautiful spot, that 
grave, a quiet tree -embowered island in a picturesque 
lake, concealed in the very centre of Peking, with 
rockeries, and hidden paths, and unexpected rustic seats. 
What thoughts did he think there under 

" the insufferable eyes 
Of these poor Might-Have-Beens, 
These fatuous, ineffectual Yesterdays " ? 

It was long before any accurate knowledge of the coup 
d'etat in Peking was allowed to reach the provinces. The 



MISDIRECTED PATRIOTISM 127 

Reform Edicts had been received with consternation by 
the majority of officials, to whose advantage it was to keep 
things as they were, and their speedy repeal, before most 
people had heard of them, naturally gave satisfaction. 
The more enlightened of the reading men, especially in 
the cities, sighed bitterly over the postponement of their 
hopes, and resigned themselves to wait. Reform must 
come some day ; for as one of the martyred Reformers 
had said : " They may cut the grass, but the roots 
remain." 

The defeat of the Reform Movement did not leave 
things where they had been before. There was no stand- 
ing still. With the execution of the Reformers on 28 Sep- 
tember, 1908, began the reactionary movement which 
culminated in the Boxer outbreak of 1900. 

The party which hated foreigners and foreign ways was 
now in the ascendancy, and the change of attitude 
showed itself very quickly. The metropolitan province 
of Chihli reflected with special readiness the feelings of 
those in power ; on 23 October British railway engineers 
were attacked by soldiers on the railway line being 
constructed between Peking and Tientsin. On 4 Novem- 
ber a missionary was murdered in Kuei-chou, far 
inland in the south-west. On 5 November an Edict 
recommended volunteer military organizations in all 
cities, towns, and villages, adding : " The whole country 
can then be turned into a great armed camp, to fight for 
their homes." Foreigners were not mentioned, but it was 
understood that the danger to be guarded against was 
from them. 

Constant murmurings against foreigners were no longer 
discouraged. Their seizure of the three northern seaports, 
the French aggression in the south, Russian aggression 
in Manchuria, German aggression in Shantung, the 
Italian demand for a seaport, the extra-territorial rights 
at ports, the foreign control of the Customs, the foreign 
building of railways, the frequent mention in foreign 



128 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

papers of a possible " partition of China " — all these were 
legitimate grievances, and the Government in its present 
mood was only too willing to let them rankle in men's 
minds. The scattering of so many foreign missionaries 
through the country was also an irritant, the protec- 
tion of Christianity by treaty exasperated the officials, 
and the meddling of Christians, especially Catholics, in 
law affairs, provoked much antagonism. 

Shantung, the proud and ancient home of Confucius, 
was particularly bitter, because the Germans claimed it 
as their " sphere of influence," and obtruded themselves 
there. They had taken Kiao-chou and procured the 
dismissal of the Shantung Governor ; they were insisting 
on making a railway through the province, and quarrelling 
over it with the next Governor, Yu Hsien. There was 
an ancient secret society long extinct called the " Righte- 
ous Harmony Fists," parodied by someone as the 
" Boxers." This was revived with the Governor's 
connivance, in connection with the local militia, in order 
to work the ruin of the foreigners whom he hated. He 
knew the Germans were seeking his downfall, and, as he 
expected, the Peking Government bowed to their will. 
Yu Hsien was degraded — temporarily — but he left behind 
him the dragon's teeth sowed in the soil of Shantung, 
which sprang up in that anti-foreign movement which was 
to cost China and the world so dear. 

The original principle of this " Boxer " union was that 
its members were to be so possessed by patriotism that 
the gods would work through them, giving them super- 
natural powers, and invulnerability to sword or fire. 
Their motto, expressed in four comprehensive mono- 
syllables, was " Exalt the Dynasty, exterminate the 
foreigner." 

At first their influence was merely local. Not daring 
to attack the " foreign devils," they began with the 
" secondary devils," i.e. Chinese Christians, both Catholic 
and Protestant, looting and burning their homes, holding 



MISDIRECTED PATRIOTISM 129 

their persons for ransom, and sometimes killing them. 
Before long the movement spread across the border into 
Chihli, and here too the officials took no public notice. 
Gaining courage from their immunity from punishment, 
the Boxers, at the close of 1899, murdered a missionary, 
and all that winter the foreigners dotted over Shantung 
and Chihli, chiefly missionaries, were in daily danger of 
their lives. 

Looking back, it seems strange how little it was realized 
what was going on. Those on the spot who gave warning 
were considered alarmists ; for the Empress-Dowager and 
her Government continued to give fair words and promises 
to the foreign Ministers, while at the same time, as we now 
know, secretly encouraging the Boxers. In March, 1900, 
Yu Hsien, the degraded, was made Governor of Shan-si, 
and soon the Boxers began to be active in that province 
also. During the spring an Imperial Envoy was sent 
through the provinces, jokingly styled the " Lord High 
Extortioner," to raise money for the equipment of the 
local militia whose organization had been commanded, 
and wherever Boxers existed they and this militia were 
one. 

What was lightly called " the unrest " was spreading. 
Boatmen and carters joined in large and vindictive 
numbers, because their living was endangered by steam- 
launches and the railway. There had been a bad harvest 
in 1899, and it was said that the foreigners had prevented 
the rain, so very many of the agricultural population 
joined also. There was no sudden outbreak, but outrages 
became week by week more common and more daring. 
Mission buildings were looted, telegraph wires cut, a 
Catholic village attacked by two thousand men, two 
Chinese preachers were openly murdered, railway stations 
were burned, the railway torn up, foreign houses burned. 
Still the Government made plausible excuses. 

Then on 1 June two missionaries were deliberately 
murdered, and a few days later the railway service on the 



130 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Peking line completely ceased. At last there arose a 
consciousness that the danger was general and urgent, 
the Government not to be trusted. The missionaries in 
Peking took refuge in the Legations, and Admiral Sey- 
mour, with two thousand allied troops, left Tientsin for 
Peking on 10 June. It was supposed by most people that 
this was all that was needed to put things right. 

In Manchuria all was quiet, and very little general 
anti-foreign feeling existed. For the most part, the 
people knew personally of only one kind of foreigner, the 
missionary, who was regarded as doing no harm but rather 
good. There were the Russians also, but they were dis- 
tinctly different as they came from the north, while the 
missionaries came from the west by Shanghai. The rail- 
way had gradually taken shape, being built in sections, 
on some of which construction trains were running. 
Superstitious prejudices had prevented its coming closer 
to Moukden than about ten miles, lest the Imperial 
Tombs be disturbed and the prosperity of the dynasty 
destroyed. The Russian railway and the presence of 
Russians were sullenly accepted as facts which could be 
neither denied nor altered. The only thing to be done 
was to make the best use of them possible, and take one's 
journeys by train. 

Little was heard of the Boxers, and no interest taken in 
their doings. There were floating rumours, and we read 
of them in our weekly Shanghai paper, feeling thankful 
that we had no such troubles here. 

Our Annual Meetings were held in May. The Presby- 
tery was composed of Chinese and foreigners, pastors and 
elders, to the number of about a hundred. The reports 
from all over Manchuria had never been more encouraging. 
The membership was increasing, schools multiplying, the 
education of women and girls developing steadily ; 
several congregations wished to support ordained pastors 
of their own ; and the subscriptions of the Church for 
its own ordinances, pastors, evangelists, etc., were $20,000, 



MISDIRECTED PATRIOTISM 131 

or about £2000 sterling, although $5 (10s.) a month was 
considered quite a good wage for a man. Plans for 
further development were discussed, and the members 
departed in high spirits to their various homes, little 
thinking that within a few weeks they would be hiding 
in the dens and caves of the earth, or laying down their 
lives for their faith. 

Ten days later, about sixty merchants, many of them 
Christians, met in the hospital waiting-room to consider 
the question of supporting beds in the hospital. Nearly 
enough was subscribed and promised annually to support 
two beds, and plans were discussed for approaching the 
more wealthy merchants of the city. 

On 30 May a terrible explosion took place in the 
barracks west of the city. An hour later, two riders 
galloped furiously to the hospital gate, bringing the cards 
of the Governor-General, His Excellency Tseng Chi, and 
the military commander, both of whom were Manchus of 
the reactionary party, who had hitherto had no dealings 
with the hospital. They now requested that we would 
receive and treat the injured men. Soon these arrived, 
eleven in all, and later on I went to the scene of the acci- 
dent and attended to the injuries of about thirty more. 
The officers and the Government were most cordial over 
this matter. The Commander, or Lieutenant-General, 
sent a complimentary present, and the Governor-General 
himself a cordial message that he hoped soon to call and 
thank us in person. For about a fortnight streams of 
officers came to the hospital, to visit the men, see the 
place, and express their gratitude. 

There now began to be much talk of the Boxers, but as 
an outside thing, in which Manchuria was little con- 
cerned. Then on 10 June the news was passed from 
mouth to mouth, " The Boxers have come ! " A few 
Shantung leaders had arrived, and were seeking to gain 
recruits. They began their drill, but received little 
encouragement. All respectable people condemned them 



132 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

utterly, and they only made way in the lowest quarters 
of the city, where beggars, desperadoes, and outcasts 
congregate, who are at all times ready for any adventure 
promising gain. 

Telegraphic communication with Tientsin and Shanghai 
was interrupted, and so unconscious of approaching 
trouble were foreigners and Chinese alike, that on the 
14th — at the time when hundreds were being massacred 
in Peking, and Admiral Seymour was struggling in vain 
to reach that city — our little missionary community went 
for a picnic to the banks of the Hun River, where the 
children plashed in the water and played on the sand, 
and we had tea happily under the shady trees. 



XVI 

THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 

" Quern Deus vult perdere, prius dementat." 

" Wliom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." 

" God is sad in Heaven 
To think what goes on in His recreant world, 
He made quite other." 

Aurora Leigh. 

MEN live peacefully, buying and selling, marrying 
and giving in marriage, working together in all 
amity, when suddenly there is a change. Human beings 
are hunted like partridges on the hills, a blind fury 
possesses men's minds, bloodshed, fire, and hate. What 
does it all mean ? 

The public injuries of China at the hands of foreigners 
were very real, but they are not enough to account for it, 
for this is a country which had always left thought of 
such matters to its officials. 

The general contempt for and hatred of foreigners were 
also very real, and the resentment at the steady increase 
of those who " followed the foreigner " in religion was 
widespread. It is true that no religious fanaticism 
existed, which would be roused by any suggestion of 
replacing the gods to whom people were devoted by new 
objects of worship, for few were devoted to any god. 
The objection to Christianity was that it was foreign. 
Men holding to what was handed down by their fore- 
fathers were indignant that any alien faith should gain 
foothold. These feelings and prejudices, however, had 
lasted for decades, and were easily controlled. The very 

133 



134 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

province where the Boxers had their origin, Shantung, 
was compelled by its new Governor, Yuan shih kai, to 
cease all open agitation, and no foreigner was killed within 
its borders. 

Here in Manchuria the weakness of the resentment at 
these things was specially marked. Japanese conquest 
and Russian aggression had been submitted to with no 
thought of resistance. Anti-foreign feeling had died down 
almost entirely. Some forty thousand of the people of 
the two southern provinces were professed Christians, 
or in Christian families, or occasional attenders of Chris- 
tian worship, besides as many Catholics. For the most 
part these people lived on friendly terms with all around, 
though here and there persecution still existed. It 
seemed impossible, alike to foreigners, to Chinese Chris- 
tians, and to the general public in Manchuria, that any 
danger could threaten us and the Church and especially 
the hospital. Even the day before every foreign building 
in Moukden was burned, a high official said to my 
assistant : 

" Why did the doctor leave ? He was quite safe here. 
No one would touch him or the hospital." 

There were two features of the Boxer Movement 
which made it possible so to intensify the existing anti- 
foreign resentment as to cause deeds of fanatic cruelty 
to be done in province after province. One was the occult 
nature of the Boxer rites and claims ; the other the 
support given by the Empress-Dowager and her Govern- 
ment. Without these the Boxers would have prevailed 
nothing. 

Their power over the people seems at first to have 
depended largely on mesmerism. Strange movements, 
passes, and contortions were practised until the devotee 
fell down in a fit or trance, sometimes uttering unknown 
words and uncouth sounds, said to be the language of 
the spirits which now entered into him. When he rose 
he was a true Boxer, and invulnerable. Superstition and 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 135 

imitation worked also on the susceptible nervous tempera- 
ment of the Chinese, and many fell down because they 
believed they would, and because their neighbours did. 
There was a butcher who joined them, a big broad- 
shouldered heavy man. When he fell, overcome by 
hypnotism, hysteria, or excitement, he struck his head 
violently against a stone, fractured his skull, and never 
moved again. 

At the beginning in Moukden the Boxer numbers 
increased very slowly in spite of their mysterious powers, 
for the Governor-General had personally no sympathy 
with their aims, and issued a proclamation against them. 
But the day after our light-hearted picnic, the news came 
of the destruction of the railways in Chihli and the burning 
of mission stations. Several Belgians were said to have 
been killed, and the worst was feared for the missionaries 
shut up in Pao-ting-fu and elsewhere. (They were actually 
massacred a fortnight later.) Uneasiness and fear began 
to spread through Moukden. Service was held on Sunday, 
17 June, as usual, and opinion among the Christians was 
divided. Some laughed at the idea of anything happening, 
— what power could such impostors have ? Many shook 
their heads and " doubted whereunto this would grow " — 
was not Satan himself the evil spirit who entered into these 
Boxers in their trance ? 

That night we heard of Admiral Seymour's advance on 
Peking of a week before. It was our last reliable news for 
days, and like foreigners elsewhere, we assumed that 
this would speedily make an end of the trouble. 

The apathetic attitude of the Moukden Government to 
the Boxers now became very evident. The proclamations 
against them were openly scribbled on. Their drill was 
practised unchecked in open spaces in the city. Their 
emissaries were in all market-places and wherever men 
congregated. It was said that no beggars were left in 
the slums, all had become Boxers. Many young lads and 
boys swelled the ranks, eager for excitement, and they 



136 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

were joined by hundreds of members of secret sects such 
as the Tsai-li-ti, who had always been anti-foreign. In 
several of the many barracks the cursing of foreigners 
became open and violent, and there were loud boasts 
of what the Boxers were going to do. Gradually a spell 
of fear was laid on all the city. Level-headed men spoke 
of them with bated breath. Their aims and objects were 
not sympathized with, but their supernatural powers 
came to be believed in, and people were afraid. 

Placards were posted on the walls and passed from 
hand to hand, telling of the evil doings of foreigners to 
China, from the introduction of opium to the seizing of 
seaports, including the poisoning of wells and the killing 
of little children. Many thought it dangerous even to 
possess foreign things. It was said that foreign buttons 
were bewitched, the proof being that they could burn, 
whereas true buttons were metal or bone. In our own 
kitchen our cook was found taking the buttons off his robe, 
while others in consternation watched them burn. They 
were harmless things of German manufacture, not pro- 
fessing to be metal. On Wednesday the 20th, vile posters 
were put up everywhere with horrible charges against 
foreigners, and all the loyal people of China were called 
on to rise up and sweep them out of the land. The 24th 
was fixed for the burning of the buildings, and rewards 
were promised to all who helped. 

Next morning I wrote to the Governor-General, 
enclosing a copy of the placard and pointing out the 
danger of allowing this agitation to continue. His tardy 
reply was cold, formal, and altogether unsatisfactory, a 
remarkable contrast to his friendly message of three weeks 
before. We learned later the meaning of this. Although 
the public telegraph wires beyond Newchwang were cut, 
there remained a private Government line direct from 
Peking to Moukden ; so the Governor-General knew 
what we did not, that the Taku forts had been taken 
by the Allied Fleet, that Tientsin was being bombarded 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 137 

by Boxers and Imperial troops combined, that the 
German Minister in Peking had been killed, and that the 
Legations were even then being besieged. He had also 
received the Imperial Edict commanding the extermina- 
tion of foreigners, and the Lieutenant-General was 
insisting on its publication and obedience to the letter. 
H.E. Tseng Chi was not a strong enough man either to 
disobey, as was done in some provinces, or to obey 
promptly. He did not wish to lull us, and he did not dare 
to warn us ; so it was truest kindness to write in this 
callous, formal way, that we might be frightened into 
leaving while yet there was time. 

We regarded the sudden change in his attitude as a 
serious matter, and discussed the advisability of ladies 
and children going away for a time. The same evening 
an official friend called in plain clothes, on foot, and after 
dark, to urge earnestly that we should leave without any 
delay. 

" The Governor-General has news from Peking," he 
said, " which makes this necessary. I cannot tell you 
what it is, but the order has been given to-day that two 
camps of Imperial troops in Moukden are to drill as Boxers" 
This was the most serious news we had yet heard. Still 
we were confident that the Government in Peking would 
speedily be compelled by Admiral Seymour to change its 
attitude, and that counter-orders would soon come and 
matters return to their old peaceful condition. 

Friday was spent in making arrangements for the 
departure of our entire community except three men. 
By 5.30 a.m. on Saturday all had left, taking with them 
summer clothing and such things as could be hastily 
gathered together for what might be an absence of a 
month or two. It was a strange journey. The party 
consisted of two men, eight ladies, and five children. 
No regular trains were running, one might get one at once 
or wait a whole day, and there were no passenger car- 
riages. The refugees were accommodated in empty 



138 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

covered trucks, where for over two days and two nights 
they lived, slept, and ate. At first there was a feeling of 
shame at having " run away." The burning of houses 
had been threatened so often and nothing had come of 
it, and it seemed absurd to think of China defying the 
world. Then news met them that Admiral Seymour's 
force was surrounded by tens of thousands of Boxers 
and soldiers, and its annihilation feared, that Tientsin 
was in ruins, and that the survivors of the foreign com- 
munity there were gathered in the Town Hall where they 
were being shelled. (This was really a gross exaggeration.) 

We were now only three in Moukden, but it soon became 
evident that we too must leave. When I returned from 
escorting the party to the station, the streets were 
already full of excited men, and the shops mostly remained 
closed. 

" Why did you come back ? " " How did you dare ? " 
I was asked again and again, for it was now known 
publicly that the soldiers were to become Boxers, and 
groups of lads were drilling in every corner. On Sunday, 
the 24th, the day proclaimed for the burning, we went to 
church as usual, arranging that horses should await us 
in the compound for escape in case of need. A large crowd 
gathered at the church gate, among whom were a few 
soldiers, but there was no attempt at disturbance. Over 
four hundred Christians gathered, and earnest were the 
prayers that went up for strength, guidance, and protec- 
tion. The last hymn sung was " Soldiers of the Lord, 
arise ! " an adaptation of " Scots wha hae." Then the 
congregation quietly dispersed, to meet again no more for 
months, and then but a broken fragment. 

During the day things grew rapidly worse. Inflamma- 
tory placards on Imperial yellow paper were boldly 
affixed on the city gates. A report was circulated that 
all the foreign ships near Tientsin had been sunk. One 
of our preaching -chapels in the city was sacked. The 
Imperial Edict for the extermination of foreigners was 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 139 

at last issued, and 2500 taels were promised for every 
" devil " killed, 500 taels for every " devil's slave," or 
Chinese Christian. The hospital patients began to be 
alarmed, and many left. The news about Admiral 
Seymour and Tientsin reached us, and a telegram from 
Newchwang urging us to leave at once. We gathered 
some of our most trusted helpers to consult as to what 
should be done. They sat in silence with bowed heads 
for some time, then one said : 

" If you remain, we will stand by you, and we'll all die 
together. If you go, your lives will be saved, and we 
can look after our families and ourselves." 

On Monday morning at dawn we slipped away in 
closely curtained carts, and without delay got a truck 
in a train going south. I tried to warn the Russian 
stationmaster of the danger. He understood, but 
indicated that he could not leave his station. He was 
seized by the Boxers a few days later, tortured, and 
killed. It was well we left then, for next day a bridge 
was blown up, and no more trains went south. There 
were other parts of Manchuria where the missionaries 
did not get away so easily, but all did escape, some amid 
difficulty and danger. Several had their health per- 
manently injured, and two died from the shock and 
strain. 

Letters from my assistants continued to reach New- 
chwang for several days. Trade was at a standstill, all 
shops closed, patients diminishing, but still a few re- 
mained. On Wednesday the Bible Society premises were 
looted. On Saturday evening, 30 June, I received the 
following telegram : 

" About four o'clock to-day the church was burned, 
and the hospitals and houses are burning. It is not 
known whether the Pastor is dead or alive, nor how 
many Christians have been killed." 

Next morning came another, sent off two hours later : 



140 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

" Men's and women's hospitals, dwelling-houses, 
Bible Society buildings, church, and chapels have all 
been burned to ashes by the Boxers." 

That was our last voice from Moukden, then silence 
fell and darkness hid from us all that was happening 
there. We could not stay in Newchwang, but scattered 
to Japan, Shanghai, or home. In Japan we spent two 
weary, sad months, getting no news, indeed, from inland 
Manchuria, but hearing terrible stories of sufferings and 
martyrdoms elsewhere, and imagining only too vividly 
like trials for our own people. From the detailed accounts 
heard later, we can reconstruct the story of those days 
and months. 

It was two o'clock on the afternoon of Saturday, 
30 June. In the men's hospital several patients still 
remained ; the last of the seventy or eighty out-patients 
who came daily had been seen by my assistant, Dr. Wei, 
and all was quiet on the Small River bank. Nearly a 
mile away, close to the church, was the Manse, where 
lived with his family Pastor Liu, for years the leader of 
the Moukden congregation. Hearing a rabble at the big 
gate, he went to it and " spoke reason " to them, reproving 
the many boys who had gathered. After he had shut the 
gate, sticks and stones began to fly, and he soon saw that 
matters were becoming serious. Returning home he got 
his wife, children, and grandchildren, with what things 
they could easily remove, over a wall into the house of a 
neighbouring Christian ; while he himself proposed to go 
to the Governor-General to seek protection for the 
church. 

As he dropped from the wall he heard the smashing 
of windows, then the crash of the big gate giving way, and 
the shouts of the mob as they poured in. From a spot 
where he could watch all that was done, he saw that this 
was more than a disorderly crowd. Two officials, wearing 
their official " buttons," were directing, and under them 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 141 

were about a hundred soldiers. Realizing the uselessness 
of appealing to a Government which was itself aiding 
the destruction, he watched these two men enter his 
house, examine things there, and then let in the crowd 
to work their will. Large bundles of millet-stalk were 
brought and thrown into the church, among piled-up 
heaps of forms, a tin of kerosene oil was poured over all, 
and in a few minutes the flames burst forth, while from 
the great crowd in and around the compound went up a 
fierce yell of applause. 

" Foreigners are done with now ! " was the shout, 
but a few turned away, groaning that this was the 
beginning of the destruction of China. The quiet, law- 
abiding majority of the population were shut up in their 
homes that day, and the lawless minority had their way. 
This was their hour and the power of darkness. A little 
later came a terrible crash, and the great tower fell, some 
of the bricks striking the house where the pastor's family 
and their friends were huddled together in terror. Then 
there was a cry : "To the south suburb ! " (the Catholic 
Mission). " To the east suburb ! " (the hospitals and 
houses). And the great crowd divided, soldiers accom- 
panying each part. 

The Roman Catholic Cathedral and other buildings 
were surrounded by a high massive wall, and when the 
crowd began to attack the gate they were fired on from 
inside. A few were wounded, and the others quickly 
scattered. 

Before the Small River bank was reached, most of the 
assistants and caretakers there and the few remaining 
patients had already fled for their lives ; but Dr. Wei, 
hoping that the hospital might be spared, prepared to 
receive the unwelcome guests. While the women's hos- 
pital, the five houses, and the girls' school were being 
looted, a party came to the men's hospital also. Dr. Wei 
met them at the gate and spoke politely, appealing to 
them to protect the good work which was done there. 



142 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

They listened and went away, but a few minutes later a 
larger company burst in. He invited them to drink tea, 
but they roughly thrust him aside, and more and more 
crowded in, smashing windows and bottles, and picking 
up anything they fancied. He soon saw it was hopeless, 
and was afraid to make himself conspicuous, but he hung 
about until he saw the flames, and then went straight 
to the telegraph office to send me word. 

The whole premises were thoroughly searched before 
burning, and an articulated skeleton was found, bought 
in Edinburgh, also a valuable papier mache model of the 
human frame, which had cost about £100, used for 
teaching anatomy to my students. These were taken 
away and were paraded through the city later as a proof 
of the evil doings of the foreigners, for the manikin was 
supposed to be the remains of a human being. In our 
house was found a mandarin's official " button," pre- 
sented to me along with official robes when I received the 
Order of the Double Dragon. We had evidently killed an 
official, for " Here is his button, all that is left of him ! " 

That same evening the Irish Mission buildings at the 
west side of the city and the Bible Society premises were 
burned, and the six preaching-chapels throughout the 
city burned or looted. The Christians soon realized that 
their one chance of escape was while the Boxers were 
occupied in the destruction of property. When that was 
over attention was turned on them, but they were not to 
be found. Almost every Christian home in Moukden was 
empty that night, and by morning all were looted and 
many burned. Then began the Reign of Terror, which 
rapidly spread all over the country. 

The Lieutenant-Governor, Commander of the army, 
threw himself with zeal into the task of exterminating all 
trace of foreign existence. The soldiers were employed 
to help the Boxers, who, however, remained a separate 
organization, their numbers being swelled by all who 
were eager for loot. The Russians were completely taken 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 143 

by surprise. Many of the railway men were killed. A 
party of engineers fought their way north from Tieling, 
generously escorting a number of Catholics and a Pro- 
testant missionary. All the northern missionaries were 
helped to escape by the Russians. Parties of soldiers and 
Boxers were dispatched to city after city, town after 
town, and even to villages and glens. One after another 
every church, hospital, school, and foreign house was 
burned, and many Christians were killed. In Moukden 
attention was for a few days concentrated on the Roman 
Catholics. The Governor-General did not want to kill 
the French priests, and offered them escort to New- 
chwang ; but as the Lieutenant-Governor was eager to 
obey the Edict, it is unlikely that safe escort would have 
been possible. In any case they refused to leave, and 
strengthened themselves in their Cathedral compound, 
where it is said that they armed several hundred of their 
people. 

Just at this time the Governor-General, Tseng Chi, in 
his heart disliking the Boxers, arranged with an en- 
lightened military officer a plan to discredit them. He 
invited some of their leaders to a banquet, pretending to 
be very cordial. 

" There are many," he said, after congratulating them 
on the marvels they could do, " who do not believe in 
your miraculous powers, and we must convince them 
that you are really protected by the spirits. Let us have 
a public demonstration of your invulnerability." 

The Boxers agreed, and in presence of a vast crowd 
a row of a dozen stood up to be shot at. Their leaders 
had arranged blank cartridges, so not a man fell. 

" That is wonderful ! " said Tseng Chi. " But you have 
not the same guns as the foreigners. I have some brand- 
new rifles, the very kind they use ; let us try these." 

The leaders protested in vain, the new rifles were dis- 
charged, three men fell dead, the others fled. Immedi- 
ately excuses were made : these men had not been sincere 



144 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Boxers ; but from that day the angry leaders suspected 
the Governor-General. There was much talk against him, 
the report being even circulated that he was in secret a 
Catholic, so that he became afraid to assert himself on 
the side of mercy. 

The Catholics were attacked again and again, but while 
suffering severely they held their own, and a good many 
soldiers and Boxers were killed or wounded. At last, 
by order of the Lieutenant-Governor, a determined assault 
was made, cannon were placed on the city wall which 
threw in shells and set some of the buildings on fire, the 
big gate was battered in, and the French Bishop, two 
priests, two sisters, a number of Chinese priests, and 
several hundred Christians were killed by shot, sword, or 
fire. All the buildings were burned, and at last Moukden 
was thought to be purged of the foreign poison. 

Few Christians had been found in the city itself. One 
old evangelist was killed on the street. There was another, 
a marked man because his leg had been amputated. A 
number of Boxers met on the street an old patient, not a 
Christian, who also had lost a leg. " Here he is ! " they 
shouted, and killed him without further question. One 
old widow woman did not attempt to flee. She was over 
eighty, absolutely penniless, and very stupid, but a Church 
member, supported by the Chinese Christians in the good 
old apostolic fashion. Near the smouldering ruins 
of the hospital she met some Boxers searching for 
Christians. 

" I am a Christian, you can kill me ! " she cried out. 
" You have broken my food-bowl (i.e. those who give me 
food), and how can I live ? I believe in Jesus. Kill me!" 
The men laughed, chaffed the old lady, gave her food and 
money, and went their way. 

But what of the Chinese Christians who had fled, and 
those in the towns and villages all over the country ? 
Boxers and soldiers were out seeking them, having in 
many cases secured in the chapels the lists of members and 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 145 

inquirers. The months of July and August were a 
veritable " killing time " ; and had there existed in Man- 
churia any widespread hatred of Christianity, many 
thousands must have died instead of hundreds. The 
general feeling was not hatred of Christians, but fear of 
the Boxers. There were cases where personal spite and 
long-standing grudges were satisfied by the betrayal of 
Christian families. On the other hand, large numbers of 
men, women, and children owed their lives to the 
silence of non-Christian neighbours, even when re- 
wards were offered ; many were housed and fed by 
heathen relatives and friends ; many more given food 
and helped on their weary wanderings by comparative 
strangers. 

One man lay for fourteen days between the ceiling and 
the roof of a Buddhist temple where a friend of his was a 
servant, and from his hiding-place saw Christians brought 
before the idols and killed when they refused to worship. 
Another was lingering about a village where he had 
friends. Hearing a crowd coming, he hid in some trees, 
and saw one after another of his fellow-members done to 
death. On one church door eighteen Christian heads were 
hung — the church was rented, so it had not been burned. 
In outlying districts many girls of Christian homes, 
Catholic and Protestant, were carried off to the hills to be 
the wives of robbers turned Boxers. Among the many 
miles of millet-fields thousands of fugitives crouched and 
crept, for tall millet forms a most perfect screen. Over 
and over again they would hear their persecutors on a 
path a few yards away, and the children were hushed 
into shuddering silence till the danger passed. They ate 
the raw grain, vegetables, roots, and wild berries, being 
afraid to light fires which would betray their presence. 
At night they would steal out to draw water from the 
village wells. The little ones pined with the unwholesome 
food and exposure, and many a grave was dug among 
that fatal unripe millet. The heavy rains came, soaking 



146 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

the fields and driving the fugitives to seek a precarious 
shelter in the villages for a few days. But even in those 
few days some were taken. 

In the early vehemence of the Boxer fury, Christians 
who were caught were beheaded without question, but 
soon they began to be given a chance of life. The alterna- 
tive usually was burning incense in a temple and renuncia- 
tion of Christianity, or death often under torture. A good 
many, among them women, school children, and un- 
baptized " inquirers," chose death ; but is it to be 
wondered at that others chose life ? They were Christians 
of a day, and it seemed a light thing to tell a lie and say 
they gave up their faith. The forms of death varied 
according to the individual ferocity of the persecutors. 
The majority were beheaded ; others were wrapped in 
cotton-wool steeped in oil and burned alive ; one was 
given a " fiery crown," a thick ring of oily cotton- wool 
being placed round his head and set on fire ; one or two 
were hacked to pieces bit by bit, being given a new chance 
to recant after each slice. 

" Yes, I believe in Jesus," answered a man firmly 
when ears and eyes were gone. Then they cut off 
his lips, saying " That will stop you ! " His little 
daughter also refused to recant and was beheaded by 
his side. 

As the weeks passed on, a plan was devised by some 
more merciful minds to stop the killing. A form of 
certificate was drawn out stating that the holder had 
renounced Christianity, the wording in different places 
varying in the definiteness of its recantation. These 
were sold to thousands of Christians, or to their friends 
on their behalf, and often without their knowledge. 
Many a man who had spent suffering weeks in the fields 
and seen his wife and children languishing and dying 
before his eyes, hailed this arrangement as the merciful 
provision of the Heavenly Father to save their lives. 
He would have continued to refuse to worship in a temple 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 147 

or definitely to recant, but to pay for a document which 
was not true seemed to him very different. The great 
proportion of the Christians being men, it often happened 
that the family remained in safety with non-Christian 
relatives, while the man alone went into hiding. Now 
messages were sent to many of these wanderers that they 
could safely come home. Some, finding these lying 
certificates awaiting them, tore them up and went into 
exile again. Others reasoned that they could not be 
blamed for benefiting by them, as they had been bought 
and paid for without their authority. 

The most prominent figure among the Moukden 
Christians was that of Pastor Liu, and a special reward 
was offered for his capture. He was never found, and 
for long not even the Christians knew if he was alive. 
After witnessing the destruction of the church and his 
house, he and his family escaped from the city and 
wandered about for some days, now with friends, now 
hiding in the millet, and again sheltering in an unused 
brick-kiln. Realizing that his presence increased the 
danger to his family, Liu decided to leave them. They 
found refuge with some non-Christian friends in the 
country, while he fled alone to the east. He had great 
difficulty in getting food and drink. The wells in that 
district were all locked for fear of Christian poison. 
More than once he was recognized and warned to go on. 
After nine days of this, he shaved his head, and passing 
himself off as a Buddhist priest who had lost his money, 
begged boldly for food. He found he was suspected, 
people said he did not look like a priest, so he continued 
his hungry wanderings, seeking for a place where he was 
unknown. One evening in an inn among the hills he met a 
Moukden Christian, but neither dared recognize the other. 
They slipped out separately and met in a gully where 
they stayed all night and exchanged tidings. Some days 
later Liu, still disguised as a priest, got work in a farmer's 
fields, remote from towns, and there he remained nearly 



148 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

two months. Once he was sent to a place five miles off, 
where he saw the chapel burning and was the reluctant 
witness of the killing of a Christian woman. It was late 
in August before he could send word of his safety to his 
family. 

Throughout the summer there were incidents showing 
that the beneficent work of the hospital was not wholly 
forgotten. A dispenser met a band of soldiers, and one 
called out : 

" That man's from the Moukden hospital ! " He 
thought death was certain, but the soldier went on : 
" Don't you know me ? I was wounded in that big 
explosion, and your people cured me and treated me 
well." 

" Don't be afraid," said the officer in charge, " your 
hospital was very good to our men. You can stay with 
us for a day or two and you'll be all right." 

Another student was led out to execution along with 
his father and brother, surrounded by a crowd of excited 
Boxers. One of these, shouting that no knife could 
wound him, stabbed himself with some force in the 
abdomen. The student, already on his knees awaiting 
the executioner's sword, instantly called out : 

" I can save that man's life, and heal his wound, if you 
will set my father free ! " So they bargained that he 
and his father were to be liberated as soon as the man was 
well ; but they would not include the brother, who was 
speedily beheaded. The soldier recovered, and the 
bargain was kept. 

Dr. Wei, my assistant, spent weeks in hiding ; but 
early in August a band of Boxers and soldiers threatened 
to burn his village and kill his whole home, numbering 
some thirty souls, if he were not given up. So he returned 
and interviewed their officer, reminding him of the many 
soldiers who had been healed and helped in the hospital. 
This he could not deny, and Wei was liberated for the 
time. Soon afterwards he heard that the Lieutenant- 



THE BOXER MADNESS, 1900 149 

General, who was in Liaoyang on his way south to fight 
the advancing Russians, was looking for him to make 
him a military surgeon. It seemed to be the one way to 
save his family and village, so again he gave himself up. 
The General received him most courteously, apologized 
for not having called at the hospital to thank us in 
person for treating his wounded, and altogether ignored 
the fact that it had been burned down by his orders, and 
that he was speaking to a Christian. He proposed to 
appoint Wei as Surgeon-in-Chief , and he dared not refuse, 
but succeeded in delaying definite arrangements until he 
could get instruments and medicines. A few days later, 
when he was at home on a visit, the Russians occupied 
his village, and the unwelcome appointment was at 
an end. 

After looting and confiscating all available Christian 
property, the Boxers had soon begun to seek new sources of 
gain. They blackmailed the merchants and wealthy men 
of city and country, levied taxes, interfered with trade, 
and took up an arrogant attitude to all. When the 
Governor-General's equipage met on the street some of 
their leaders with their mounted escort, he had to draw 
aside humbly to make room for them. Their claims for 
power and money grew till all Moukden trembled before 
them, and the country sighed for the old days of com- 
parative prosperity and security. 

At the beginning of August, their ally the Lieutenant- 
Governor went south with part of the army. During his 
absence very alarming news reached the Governor- 
General by the private Government wire from Peking. 
Tientsin had been taken by the foreigners, the Boxers 
and the Chinese army were being daily defeated, and a 
horde of foreigners were advancing steadily on Peking. 
The Boxer power had now lasted forty-one days in 
Moukden, and the Governor-General decided that this 
was long enough. A strong proclamation denouncing 
them was issued, which was received with relief by the 



150 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

people ; and at the same time, on 1 1 August, the soldiers 
were commanded to turn on them, and kill every Boxer 
they could find. A good many were killed, many more 
fled from Moukden, and the rest were absorbed in the 
ordinary population. 
The Boxer Madness was at an end in Manchuria. 



XVII 



PAYING THE PRICE 

" There shall never be one lost good ! What was shall live as before ; 
The evil is null is nought, is silence implying sound ; 
What was good shall be good, with for evil so much good more ; 
On the earth the broken arcs ; in the heavens a perfect round." 

Abt Vogler. 

" 'Tis but to keep the nerves at a strain, 
To dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall, 
And, baffled, get up to begin again." 

" Life in a Love " — R. Browning. 

THE Boxer Madness was at an end, but the price was 
still to pay, a heavy price. For the Empress - 
Dowager there was the humiliating flight, snatching 
from his quiet entombment the unfortunate Emperor, 
and hurrying west to unknown regions amid unaccus- 
tomed hardships and undreamed-of publicity. For 
Peking and other cities there was the occupation by the 
Allied Forces, with all that implied of humiliation and 
misery. For the whole nation there has been the long- 
drawn-out oppression in order to raise the indemnities, 
and the international complications whose end is not yet. 
While the allies were marching on Peking and seeking to 
restore order in that unhappy city, it fell naturally to the 
Russians to re-conquer their railway area and drive back 
all opposing forces in Manchuria. Taken unawares by 
the outbreak, it was some time before they were able to 
do this. The first outrages were on 30 June. In August 
the Russians began slowly but steadily to move north- 
wards, meeting with vigorous opposition from the 

151 



152 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Lieutenant-General and his troops, very differently 
trained men from most of those who met the Japanese 
six years before. At the same time another Russian 
force was moving down from the north. 

The missionaries were eager to get as early as possible 
into touch with the Christians, and learn how they fared, 
and in September Dr. A. Macdonald West water, of 
Liaoyang, accompanied the Russian army on its forward 
march, as a Red Cross surgeon. Knowing the country 
and people well, and having some previous acquaintance 
with the Russians, he was able to be of great use as an 
intermediary. When the army was encamped south of 
Liaoyang, he went forward into that city to represent 
to its authorities the hopelessness and suicidal folly of 
resistance, and persuaded them to open the gates and 
let the Russians enter quietly. Thus the city was saved. 

Moukden was unfortunately occupied by those same 
soldiers whose passions had been roused by helping the 
Boxers to kill and loot. Many of them had at the com- 
mand of their officers turned their weapons on their 
quondam allies and looted and killed them in their turn ; 
others had returned angry and rebellious after being 
defeated by the Russians. There was open conflict 
between the Governor-General and the Lieutenant- 
General, who was very indignant at the massacre of his 
friends the Boxers. Fearing for his life, Tseng Chi fled on 
29 September, followed by most of the officials, when the 
Russians were within a few miles of the city. 

The consequences to Moukden were dire. The soldiers 
threw off all restraint, and all that night and all next 
day they pillaged and terrorized the defenceless mer- 
chants and people. The most prosperous banks and 
shops were sacked completely, valuable silks and furs 
being strewn on the streets and trampled in the dust. 
Thousands of pounds' worth of goods were thus lost. 
On the second evening they began to set fire to the shops 
they had looted ; then hearing that the Russians were at 



PAYING THE PRICE 153 

the south gate, they fled precipitately by the north 
gates, leaving the most busy and prosperous streets of the 
city in flames, which were rapidly spreading. An advance 
party of three hundred Cossacks rode up to the south gate 
to reconnoitre, and finding it undefended, they entered 
and took possession of Moukden, their first work being 
to help to control and extinguish the fires. Had their 
arrival been delayed until morning, the soldiers would 
have continued their ruthless destruction, and half 
Moukden might have been burned. 

Next day, 1 October, the main body of Russians 
entered, and with them Dr. Westwater. The burned 
streets were still smouldering, and everywhere were 
ruined houses and shops. The people, in dread of this 
new danger which had come upon them, hastened to 
hang out flags with Chinese inscriptions such as " Yield 
to the Russians," " Submissive People," " I am a Chris- 
tian " (this being, of course, untrue). The Russian 
Commander was General Saboitisch, whose acquaintance 
I had made when he visited Moukden the previous year. 
He took up his abode at first in the Imperial Palace, 
unused for centuries, and set himself to restore order. 
Some days later the Russian armies from the north 
joined forces with those from the south, and through 
Manchuria there ran a line of Russian rule from Siberia 
to the sea. 

The news soon spread, and Christians began to come 
out of hiding and venture back to the city. On Sunday, 
7 October, fourteen weeks after the burning, a congrega- 
tion of some hundred men gathered in the ruins of the 
church. A portion of the gable wall was still standing, 
and on it could be read the charred imprint of a part of 
the Beatitudes which once hung there. The words 
stood out distinctly, " Blessed are they that mourn." 
Many of the men were gaunt and haggard, some were 
starving, all were poor. They had neither Bibles nor 
hymn-books, but their hearts were full as they gathered 



154 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

round Pastor Liu, with his shaven priestly head, and 
prayed together, and sang together, and listened while 
he spoke to them in broken accents on this same old spot 
where they were wont to gather in peace to worship God. 

Having seen my family sail for home in September, I 
returned to Newchwang and at once attempted to get 
up-country, but this was not easy. The principal towns 
on the main route all the way north were occupied by the 
Russians, but everywhere else the disorder was com- 
plete. Many of the Boxers and defeated soldiers had 
become brigands. Those well-to-do farmers who had 
not been ruined during the fighting were now mercilessly 
blackmailed, and none but the poorest could travel 
without a strong escort. At last three of us succeeded in 
getting passes by rail for Liaoyang, and from there after 
some delay we accompanied a Russian convoy by road to 
Moukden, the military railway being not yet rebuilt. 
The whole countryside was a scene of desolation ; miles 
of millet-fields were uncut, trampled, and spoiled ; the 
villages were in ruins, the houses either burned or gutted 
and wrecked ; few Chinamen and no women were to 
be seen. 

On the morning of 9 November, a bleak, chilly day, 
we entered Moukden, and drove through the ruined main 
streets. No attempt had been made to rebuild the 
burned buildings, there was little cart traffic, and few 
people were moving about. All the inns were closed, so 
we went into the least dilapidated empty one we could 
find, where one solitary old man was in charge. It had 
been sacked, first by Chinese soldiers, then by Russians, 
and was quite bare, but our servants soon lit a fire, and 
prepared food. 

When we went over to the Small River bank, the 
scene that met our view made our hearts sink. Of 
hospitals and houses nothing remained but heaps of 
debris, with here and there a broken wall, a protruding 
gable. Even the trees and plants were gone, torn up by 



PAYING THE PRICE 155 

the roots or cut down. As we stood there with the wind 
whistling through the grey desolation, it seemed as if 
our life-work lay in ruins around us. The ruined walls 
were a symbol of the ruined Church, its apostasy, its 
falsehood, and of our ruined friendship with the Chinese 
people who after all these years had cast us out. We 
returned to our cold, cheerless inn, after seeing the 
remains of the church building also. Then, one after 
another, Christians slipped in to visit us, and all that 
evening and day after day our hearts were torn by their 
tales of suffering, till gradually there revived within us 
the consciousness that the Church was not ruined. 

One old man of seventy came into our room and I did 
not recognize him. He was a colporteur, and had been 
noted for his flowing white beard, but this had been 
almost entirely torn out. Again and again he had been 
bound and beaten, and once he was hung up to a tree by 
his arms till he lost consciousness. He was taken to a 
temple where were two hundred Boxers, and saw dripping 
from their swords the fresh blood of some Roman Catholics 
who had just been beheaded. 

" Do you follow the foreigner ? " he was asked. 

" No, I follow Jesus." 

" Will you give up the false religion, and follow 
Buddha ? " 

" I worship the true Buddha. I believe in the One 
True God." 

The sword was placed on his neck and he thought the 
end had come, but one interceded for him because of his 
age, so they beat him instead. Next day, to his surprise, 
he was liberated, after having his forehead well washed 
to remove the Cross which was supposed to be marked 
on every Christian. 

" You cannot wash the Cross from my heart," he told 
them. 

Tales like this, and of those who had died the martyr's 
death, made us realize that the Church's faith was greater 



156 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

than her apostasy, her truth more real than her falsehood. 
Even those who denied their Master with their lips were 
owning Him passionately in their hearts, and now that 
the iron hand of terror relaxed its grip, like a needle to the 
Pole they returned to their allegiance. 

One of our preachers, a student for the ministry, told 
me how he had escaped and hid in the fields for several 
weeks till he heard that his mother was dying. Then he 
returned to his village, and while arranging her funeral he 
was taken. As he refused to recant, heavy chains were 
put on him and he was thrown into prison to await 
execution. He heard the soldiers discussing which one 
would cut off his head ; they showed him the knife and 
sharpened it before him, then he was brought out to die. 

" If they had only killed me then," he said bitterly, " I 
should have been all right." 

But someone spoke for him, and instead of killing they 
beat and kicked him and put him into a filthy hole. The 
heat was suffocating, the vermin torturing, the chains 
on his ankles so tight that his feet swelled. For days he 
lay there and could neither sleep nor eat, then he was 
again led out for execution, and he longed to die. Some 
friends came and tried to buy his life, but the Boxers 
said they wanted his blood to consecrate a new flag. At 
last, after several days' delay, he was taken to a temple, 
more dead than alive. When he told me the story, he 
broke down here. 

" Ah, doctor ! " he said with tears, " it was there I 
denied my Lord." 

Another told me how he hid in the fields with his wife 
and family till one child after another died of exposure 
and hardship. Then they heard they could buy exemption 
certificates. 

" We knew it was wrong," he said, " but it was to save 
the lives of our children who were left." For among the 
many families wandering outcast that summer there was 
hardly one which did not lose a child. 



PAYING THE PRICE 157 

We heard many expressions of thankfulness too. Over 
and over again was it said that the tall millet saved their 
lives. And the weather was too warm for sleeping out 
of doors to matter. 

" We know now what that means," said one. " Pray 
that your flight be not in the winter. Had it been then, not 
one could have lived." 

The chaos in Moukden was distressing. A large pro- 
portion of the respectable inhabitants had left, and the 
city was rilled with the worst and lowest in Manchuria. 
The General commended himself to all by his justice 
and kindness ; but the Russians could not, of course, 
discriminate as to who were trustworthy. The best 
class kept away from them ; their interpreters were 
degenerate Chinese who cared only for their own gain, 
and many of those whom they employed even as police- 
men were ex-Boxers and deserted soldiers. Plundering 
and robbing went on nightly even inside the walls. Chris- 
tian persecution continued, though not openly ; and 
offensive things against foreigners, especially Russians, 
were continually written on the walls. 

No direct mission work was possible, but we did what 
we could to cheer and advise the Christians, and to relieve 
their most pressing needs. It had been impossible to 
bring much money with us, but the head of the Merchant 
Guild advanced some. They were in terrible destitution, 
the tale of semi-starvation being legible in their faces. 
Their worldly goods were gone, many were living on the 
charity of relatives, trade was at a standstill, work not to 
be had. Some fortunes were indeed made that winter, 
but there was generally not much to be said for those who 
made them. Before the cold weather began, an unused 
theatre was rented for use as a church, and here on 
Sundays there gathered about two hundred men, and 
sometimes three or four women in men's clothes, for it 
was not safe for a woman to be seen in the street. Few 
Bibles and hymn-books were among them, and those few 



158 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

were tattered and stained, having been buried in the 
earth. Not a new one could be had in all Manchuria 
except in Newchwang. 

Of our old possessions in hospital and houses we found 
few traces. Among the ruins we could recognize broken 
bits of crockery and ornaments, and an English book 
was handed me which a Russian soldier had found in 
one of the yamen buildings. It was an old copy of 
Hamerton's " Intellectual Life," valuable to me because 
it was presented by the author to an old aunt of mine 
in the Highlands. Strange that this shabby old volume 
should be preserved, when so much else perished ! Our 
anatomical model was found in a dilapidated condition 
in one of the yamens, and I was informed that the 
articulated skeleton belonging to the hospital, after being 
paraded through the streets, had been deposited in a 
temple outside the city. I found the temple gate closed, 
and for a time knocked in vain. The priests were afraid 
of the soldiery, and pretended there was no one to hear. 
I shouted loudly, mentioning my name, and assuring 
them I would do them no harm, and at last the gate was 
opened. The priest professed to know nothing at all of 
the skeleton, but I insisted that it was there, and that if 
necessary the temple must be searched. Then he gave 
in, and ordered it to be brought. 

" It's not my fault he is injured," he said, " that was 
done before he was brought to me. I have treated him 
well. I got a coffin for him, and have offered him food 
regularly." 

A rough coffin was carried in, and there lay our teaching 
materials, badly broken, with parts missing, and in the 
coffin Were also bowls with various kinds of food. 

It was useless to remain long in Moukden, as 
hospital work was impossible, and there was little we 
could do ; so after a few weeks we went back to New- 
chwang. [?: 

In January I returned for another visit, before going 



PAYING THE PRICE 159 

home on furlough. The railway was now rebuilt, but 
travelling was still very difficult, as there were no regular 
trains. We obtained passes and started from New- 
chwang one afternoon, but about midnight we reached a 
junction and were suddenly informed that the train was 
now going south to Dalny. We and our baggage were 
hastily ejected on the snow, and we saw the lights of our 
comparatively comfortable quarters disappear in the 
distance. The station was not rebuilt, nor was anything 
visible in the dense, blinding snow. Knowing there must 
be Russians somewhere, we stumbled forward along the 
line, shouting as we went, till we saw a man with a 
lantern. 

" Angliske ! " he exclaimed in an excited tone, " New- 
castle ! Angliske ! Newcastle ! " and he led us away to a 
siding where stood a train without an engine. Out of the 
cold we gratefully climbed into one of the trucks, where 
was a stove. This he helped us to light, and then went 
off smiling in friendly fashion and reiterating with satis- 
faction, " Newcastle ! " evidently the one word he re- 
membered from some long-past visit to England. Thank- 
fully we lay down to sleep. About daylight we became 
conscious that our truck had begun to move. Anxiously 
we peered forth to see which way it was going. It was 
north, so we settled down again and replenished our stove, 
and ultimately we reached Moukden. The railway now 
passed within a couple of miles of the city, the station 
being to the west. Here it remains to this day, the 
present Japanese station and hotel being close to the old 
Russian site. 

Throughout the country, except along the railway line, 
there was still anarchy, brigands blackmailing and 
pillaging on ail hands. There were constant rumours of 
expected risings, and it was said that the Lieutenant- 
General was gathering a large army in the north. The 
city itself we found more peaceful than before, and a 
few shops were open. The Governor-General had quietly 



160 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

returned to Moukden, and was living in a private house, 
where I had an interview with him. He received me in 
his official robes with much ceremony, most politely- 
thanked me for all the hospital had done for his people and 
soldiers, and expressed regret for its unfortunate destruc- 
tion. I reminded him that these very soldiers of his 
had a large share in the looting and burning. His face 
fell and he assured me that he had done his best to prevent 
it, but the Boxers were beyond his control. 

" They said I was a Roman Catholic, and wanted to kill 
me," he exclaimed indignantly. He blamed the Lieu- 
tenant-General for everything, and said that when he 
returned to office he would protect the Christians. Some 
of my old official friends had suffered severely because 
of their association with the foreigner. The one who had 
warned us to leave lost everything and had to flee for his 
life. Now, however, he has received an appointment as 
magistrate of a city. At the present day he holds an 
important office in Moukden, under the Republic. 

The political outlook at this time was most uncertain, 
and the missionary outlook no less so. The Russians were 
in possession of the principal cities, and in force all along 
the railway. Chinese officials held office in most places, 
and, it was said, would soon be reinstated in Moukden, 
but they were more or less under Russian control. The 
general fear was that all Manchuria would gradually 
come under Russia, for China was powerless to resist. 
It was impossible to expect that this would not affect 
mission work. The Russians had all along been most 
kind and helpful to us, and personally they were our 
very good friends. They would facilitate in any way 
they could the gathering together, relieving, and organ- 
izing of our Christians ; but, knowing the official stand- 
point, we could not but fear it would necessarily be a very 
different matter when we and the Chinese Christians 
began once more to evangelize. 

These gloomy forebodings, however, were not realized. 



PAYING THE PRICE 161 

Very gradually things returned to their former conditions. 
The Governor-General resumed his position and bit by bit 
regained his old power. Brigands betook themselves to 
peaceful avocations or re-enlisted ; trade revived ; a 
good harvest in 1901 worked wonders. Missionaries 
returned to their stations, living in temporary quarters, 
and helping to reorganize the rent and broken Church. 
Its membership was much reduced. Only about three 
hundred were definitely reported as killed, but hundreds 
more had disappeared. Of these many no doubt were also 
killed, others died, and many fled to other provinces. Of 
those who recanted, a number decisively abandoned 
Christianity, these being mostly new members who had 
come in on the wave during the year or two preceding the 
outbreak ; the greater majority still counted themselves 
Christians, though temporarily suspended from full 
membership. The former general friendliness to Christi- 
anity had quite passed away. Instead there were aloof- 
ness, avoidance, and fear. 

" Who would want to have anything to do with a 
religion whose people suffered like that ? " was frankly 
said ; and resentment was harboured against foreigners 
and all who associated with them, for having caused the 
miseries of the Boxer summer, and also the Russian 
occupation. The Tsai-li-ti continued to be numerous 
and strongly anti-foreign and anti-Christian. 

It was long before country work was possible for 
foreigners, partly because it was really unsafe, partly 
because the Russians considered it so, and refused to 
allow foreigners to travel. The Christians themselves 
were thus compelled to do much of their own reconstruc- 
tion, and this materially increased their self-reliance 
and self-government. It is always difficult to engineer 
the transformation from dependence to self-support and 
independence. Looking back, we can see how largely 
this was wrought among us by events and influences over 
which we had no control. In the absence of any visit 



162 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

from a foreign pastor, and with hostile, suspicious, or 
contemptuous neighbours, the Christians in many a 
district drew together and ceased to depend on any- 
earthly help outside their own circle for spiritual or 
temporal guidance. They put into practice the methods 
of Church government they had learned, and when at 
last the missionary could come among them, they had 
greatly advanced in self-dependence. 

Another circumstance had a powerful influence, partly 
for good, partly for evil, on the development of the 
Christian Church. The Government decided to compen- 
sate Christians for their losses, to the extent of one -third 
of the total amount. This inevitably caused trouble, 
jealousies, and heart-burnings, and introduced into the 
midst of the Church, whose dross had been purged by fire, 
a new element which in many instances was most 
disastrous. To their credit be it said that a good many 
Christians devoted to the Church a large part of their 
indemnity money. The payment had been long delayed, 
they had already made themselves homes again, and 
though still poor were no longer in such urgent need. 
These subscriptions were chiefly used by them for the 
erection of chapels and schools, and in this way many a 
congregation started on its career of self-support. 

The work of the next few years was very different from 
those preceding 1900. The condition of things was so 
uncertain that no one ever knew when war might break 
out between Russia and Japan. Men's minds were 
unsettled, so that new " inquirers " were few. There was 
much to do in consolidating the Church, teaching and 
training her members, gathering back those who had 
left. Those baptized, however, were worth having. 
They had gone through the persecution and come out of 
it Christians still, or else, in spite of contumely, they 
were drawn to this strange teaching for which some 
would even dare to die. 

Education too received fresh attention. The Christians 



PAYING THE PRICE 163 

were eager to have as many elementary schools as possible 
for both boys and girls, and Middle Schools were opened 
in several centres. An Arts College was started for our 
older boys, to train them for afterwards becoming more 
efficient pastors, evangelists, medical assistants, or school 
teachers, and the Theological Hall was reopened. 

By the end of 1903 the work was once more in full 
prosperity, being only hindered by the uncertainties of 
the political situation and the fear of war. Hospitals 
had been early reopened in temporary premises. The 
Moukden Women's Hospital was rebuilt in 1903, and it 
was planned to build the Men's Hospital in 1904, when 
once more the war-clouds burst over us. 



XVIII 

WAR AGAIN, 1904 

" My life must be lived out in foam and roar." 



Sordello. 



EUSSIA had long regarded Manchuria and Korea as 
> part of her destined territory, her not unnatural 
ambition being to possess a seaboard free from ice. The 
conquest of Korea and part of Manchuria by Japan in 
1894-5 was in her eyes an unpardonable impertinence 
which could not be tolerated. So Japan had to be con- 
tent with Formosa, and to stand by and see Russia, 
within three years of the Chino-Japanese war, appropriate 
with China's sanction the ice-free harbour and fortress of 
Port Arthur she had marked as her own, establish a new 
ice-free seaport at Ta-lien-wan or Dalny, proceed to build 
a railway across her battlefields, and interfere in the 
affairs even of Korea. 

The Boxer outbreak was a mere temporary set-back, 
which actually strengthened Russia's position, giving 
reasonable excuse for many an act of aggression. The 
unnecessary ferocity of her vengeance at Blagovestchensk 
and the military occupation cowed all impulse to re- 
sistance, though rousing bitter enmity. Manchuria 
was in the estimation of the outer world lost to China, 
in spite of the Treaty of 1902, whereby all but the railway 
zone was to be evacuated. A strongly guarded Russian 
military railway ran through the heart of the three 
provinces ; a Russian Commissioner with a considerable 
military guard resided in each capital, in addition to 

164 



WAR AGAIN, 1904 165 

consuls, and even the Governor-General in Moukden 
could do little with consulting this Commissioner. Harbin, 
that mushroom city with its thirty thousand Russian 
civilians and countless Chinese, had sprung up where in 
1898 were but a few huts. Hundreds of Chinese had 
learned to speak a sort of semi-Russian jargon, and the 
lowest classes of the two nations fraternized with easy 
freedom. 

Jealous Japan was watching closely all that went on, 
and steadily and silently preparing for a war on which she 
knew depended her very existence. If she allowed 
Russia to close her grasp on Manchuria, it meant that 
Korea would go too. And with Manchuria and Korea 
in the grip of the Bear, what chance would remain for 
Japan of that predominance on which she had set her 
heart, or even of independence and development ? When 
it became evident that the Evacuation was a mere name, 
she saw that the sooner the war came the better for her, 
before Russia began to take her seriously. She had 
spies everywhere, posing as Chinese, many of them in 
Russian employ ; she knew all the Russian arrange- 
ments, and it was for her to fix the date for the opening 
of hostilities. 

There were in Moukden a considerable number of 
Russians, and all, military and civilians alike, looked 
forward to the war with easy contempt. 

" War ? " said one loftily. " There will be no war 
worth mentioning. Peace will be signed in Tokyo within 
three weeks of the first shot." 

" It is suicidal folly," said another, " for Japan to defy 
us, for now we shall wipe her name off the map." The 
sudden surprise attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur 
on the night of 8 February, 1904, and the torpedoing of 
warships while many of their officers were feasting and 
dancing on shore, was a severe shock to Russian com- 
placency ; but it was easy to make excuses for this " un- 
fortunate accident," and complete confidence was speedily 



166 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

restored. To the last, many officers were always sure 
that Russia was about to gain a great victory. 

It is not necessary to attempt to give any connected 
account of a war which is fresh in men's minds, and on 
which so many books have been written. Looking back, 
we wonder that its outcome should have been a surprise 
to anyone. Japan had made great advance since 1895, 
and profited by her mistakes and successes in the war with 
China. Her army worked with the precision of a well- 
oiled machine ; there was provision for every detail and 
every individual, preparedness for every known con- 
tingency. More important still, there was universal 
personal enthusiasm for the war : nation and individual 
alike were determined to conquer or die ; and they did 
not underestimate their foe. 

The Russians, on the other hand, relied on their ancient 
reputation for valour, and on what they considered the 
contemptible size of their enemy. It was evident to the 
most casual observer in Manchuria that military prepara- 
tions were carried out with easy carelessness and laissez- 
faire, that corruption and graft were rampant, that there 
were jealousy and lack of cohesion among the Generals 
and various branches of the service, that many officers 
cared more for their amusements than for serving their 
country, and that the rank and file of the men felt either 
indifference or dislike to the war. A Russian card was 
one day brought to me, and I was told that a foreigner 
urgently wanted to see me. He spoke English well, 
and after asking for medicine for some trifling ailment, he 
poured out his story. He was a Russian Jew who had 
gone to London years ago, and was in business near 
Blackfriars Bridge. He had returned to Russia to visit 
his old parents, and had been seized and compelled to 
serve in this war. He was comfortably dressed and 
evidently had some money, though but a common 
soldier. 

" I am a Jew," he said bitterly, " so there can be no 



WAR AGAIN, 1904 167 

reward nor promotion for me. I shall be sent to the front 
to die like a dog." Then turning passionately to me he 
exclaimed : "I don't want to kill these Japs ! Will you 
save me ? Get me a post as servant any where ! I want 
to live, and get back to Blackfriars Bridge ! " 

It was natural, almost inevitable, that victory should 
be with the alert, the well-prepared, the keenly loyal ; 
but at the beginning of the war few outside Manchuria 
knew the actual conditions, or were prepared to see 
Russia defeated. 

For the third time within ten years it was now decided 
that all the ladies and children should leave Moukden. 
It had been officially stated that the Chinese Railway 
connecting Manchuria with Tientsin and Peking would 
shortly cease to run, so that our connection with the outer 
world would be cut. For this reason their departure was 
hastened, but after all the railway continued open 
throughout the war. Unfortunately I had to go to 
Tientsin later owing to illness in my family, and for a 
considerable time the way was blocked against my return, 
as the Russians allowed no foreigners to approach nearer 
to Moukden than Hsin-min-tun, the rail-end of the 
Chinese line. 

During this time the Russian strategy aimed at delaying 
the advance of the Japanese until an army was ready 
with which to crush them. But the Japanese would not 
be delayed. They crossed the Yalu, they crippled the 
Russian fleet, they invested Port Arthur, and three armies 
moved steadily forward by three routes towards Liao- 
yang, beating down all opposition before them. By 
August they had retaken all their old conquests of the 
Chino -Japanese war, except Port Arthur. South of 
Liaoyang the Russians prepared to make a stand, and at 
last towards the end of August we heard that a great 
battle was taking place there. As this might be expected 
to cause a relaxation of the strictness of guard over the 
road entering Moukden from the west, another missionary 



168 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

and I decided to start at once for Hsin-min-tun, and 
attempt to get through the Russian lines. 

At the beginning of the war I had received an official 
Russian pass for myself and family to leave Moukden. 
This I had used on my return, and though arrested by 
the way I was quickly released. When I left Moukden 
the second time I expected no trouble, my face being in 
the direction the pass indicated. Nevertheless I was 
stopped four times, a drunken Cossack keeping me under 
guard all one night in an inn. These Cossacks cannot 
read, but an official Russian document with an official 
seal and signature impresses them. Now I was to use 
this pass for the fourth time, and even this was not the 
last ; it also served to bring my wife and family back 
through the lines the following February. 

The Russian defeat at Liaoyang after eleven days' 
desperate fighting had, as we anticipated, thrown into 
confusion the guarding of the approaches. We left 
Hsin-min-tun without any challenge, and after covering 
seven or eight of the forty miles to Moukden came to the 
broad Liao River, which was considered the boundary 
of the war zone. As our ferry boat touched the eastern 
bank, some Russian soldiers came forward. The Chinese 
passengers were allowed to go their way, but we were 
arrested and taken to the camp, where for three and a 
half hours we were kept waiting. Our passports were 
taken away, and we much feared that if they were read 
we should be sent straight back. At last an officer came 
in, looked at us, glanced carelessly at our papers which 
he held, signed them, and we were free. To our Chinese 
inn that night, when we had just finished supper, a 
number of Cossacks came. They seemed to be starving, 
and gulped down the remains of our viands with great 
relish. Next day we passed some thousands of worn-out 
soldiers retreating from the Liaoyang battle, but we were 
not interfered with, and arrived safely home on the after- 
noon of 9 September, 1904. 



WAE AGAIN, 1904 169 

Our life in Moukden that winter was a strange one. 
Around us raged a war, in which the Chinese with whom 
we identified ourselves were primarily little concerned. 
It was fought out on Chinese soil, and Chinese peasants 
suffered and died without suggestion of compensation, 
though it was not their quarrel. They wanted neither 
Russia nor Japan to overshadow them, the shadow of the 
Dragon Throne was preferred by all. They took no side 
in the struggle, though many of the people, groaning 
under Russian military rule, longed for the advent of the 
Japanese, in the mistaken belief that it would bring back 
freedom. They and we were neutral, yet we viewed 
from the inner circle the bloody strife. 

Around us were tens of thousands of Russians who 
talked freely of all that happened. Their easy optimism 
was most striking, and their gaiety in the face of defeat 
and disaster. Most officers whom we met were very 
friendly, though we could not but surmise that there were 
many quite the reverse. The alliance between Britain 
and Japan made them suspicious, and the common 
soldiers, if they knew we were " Angliske," scowled at us 
openly. One officer told me frankly that the successes 
and generalship of the Japanese were easily explained, 
as they had a large number of British officers among 
them. This was generally believed throughout the army. 

In vain the Russians had made their stand before 
Liaoyang, and when we arrived in Moukden it was to a 
panic-stricken city. During the summer, merchants of 
all kinds and nationalities, many of the lowest and most 
unprincipled type, had congregated in the city and 
battened on the needs of the army. Now hurried flight 
was the aim of all these, for the Japanese entrance was 
not to be opposed. Soon, however, it became clear 
that they were not going to advance, and the Russians 
took up a position midway between Moukden and Liao- 
yang, across and along a stream called the Sha-ho. 
Hospitals, bank, post-office, and other departments 



170 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

which had fled returned quietly. Reinforcements from 
Europe poured down steadily from the north. Kuro- 
patkin completed the reorganization of his army, and 
prepared to take the offensive at last and to inflict a 
crushing defeat on his enemy before winter set in. 

At the beginning of October a proclamation was issued 
congratulating the troops on their successful retreats, 
announcing that they were now strong enough to ad- 
vance and " impose our will on the enemy," and urging 
them to " uphold the honour of Russia." The general 
opinion among war correspondents and military attaches, 
as well as among the Russians, seemed to be that there 
was good reason to expect a turn of the tide and a Russian 
victory. 

On 7 October the Battle of the Sha-ho commenced, and 
we began to hear heavy firing, a sound which continued 
in our ears for five months. It was impossible to know 
what was happening from day to day. One evening a 
Russian officer told me that all was going well and they 
were successful ; next morning there was an ominous 
silence, and we learned from the Chinese that the Russians 
were retreating. Towards midnight on the 17th we stood 
on our balcony and looked out on pitch-blackness in 
which a thunderstorm was raging. Between the peals 
we could hear distinctly the incessant rattle of rifles 
and machine-guns, punctuated with the sound of heavy 
artillery. This continued without intermission for an 
hour, then ceased abruptly. We learned afterwards that 
the Russians had made a night attack on an outlying 
hill occupied by the Japanese. After losing 1800 men 
they had wiped out the Japanese garrison, taken the 
hill, and captured fourteen guns which we saw later 
paraded through the city. The hill was thenceforward 
known as Potiloff Hill, from the name of the captor. 

Soon after this it was evident to all that the great 
Russian attack, the first occasion on which they had 
taken the initiative, had failed. The Battle of the Sha-ho 



WAR AGAIN, 1904 171 

had been fought and lost, with terrible slaughter on both 
sides. The scenes in Moukden after the Battle of Liaoyang 
were now re-enacted, the hurried flight, the general 
stampede. But again the Japanese were unable to turn 
defeat into disaster. They did not press their victory. 
The panic was arrested. The fugitives returned, and 
camp-followers slunk back to their old haunts. 

The armies settled down for the winter, facing each 
other on opposite sides of the Sha-ho. Many Russian 
officers lived in houses in Moukden, others in comfortable 
railway cars at the station, and some were with their men. 
For the remaining weeks until the ground was frozen 
hard, the entire Russian army were at work digging 
trenches, fortifications, and shelters, until the whole plain 
north of the Sha-ho was one vast, well-organized under- 
ground camp, extending east and west in parallel lines. 
All the trees in the countryside were felled to use as 
props, and the timber taken from the neighbouring 
Chinese houses, so that over that entire populous area 
the villages were destroyed and the inhabitants driven out. 

During the four months between the battles of Sha-ho 
and Moukden there were constant skirmishes and some 
serious fights, and the boom of artillery continued at 
intervals day and night. Military attaches and war 
correspondents came and went. Some of these lived 
comfortably in Moukden, picked up what news and tales 
they could, and sent their dispatches promptly. Others 
risked their lives at the front, saw the realities of the war, 
and returned to Moukden to find themselves left behind 
by their less enterprising brethren in the race to supply 
what passed for news. 

On one occasion a correspondent who usually stayed in 
the city decided to go out with a Russian company about 
to operate in a mountain district. With infinite labour 
some guns were dragged up a hill, from which some 
Japanese were seen not far off squatting on the ground 
smoking cigarettes. The Russians opened fire, but after 



172 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

a round or two found that by some mistake their ammuni- 
tion had failed to arrive. While they were discussing the 
situation, a Japanese shell went over their heads, then a 
second fell close in front, and no one awaited a third. 
Down the hill they all tore, the correspondent with the 
rest. Suddenly he found that he was being pursued by 
two Cossacks. They attacked and knocked him down, 
and he realized with horror that they took him for a Jap, 
for he was dark and had closely cropped hair. In vain 
he protested. One of them lifted his rifle with its fixed 
bayonet, solemnly crossed himself, and was about to kill 
him when a Russian officer came up. To him the corre- 
spondent shouted, and in a few minutes his identity was 
established. 

There was a strange friendliness between the soldiers 
on opposite banks of the Sha-ho. At stated times Russians 
and Japanese drew water from the same wells and holes 
in the river ice, and exchanged greetings and cigarettes ; 
though the rest of the day they would " snipe " each 
other if given the opportunity. Thousands of Japanese 
picture-postcards were scattered through the Russian 
army, representing the happy time enjoyed in Japan by 
those Russians who were fortunate enough to be taken 
prisoner. No doubt these alluring pictures had their 
effect. Gradually with the postcards were circulated 
leaflets in Russian, which those who could read were 
glad to while away the weary hours in the trenches by 
explaining to those who could not. The Russian soldier 
at the front receives but little news from home ; but in 
this way were circulated through the army stories which 
would otherwise have remained unknown, of the constant 
troubles and incipient rebellion in Russia over the calling 
out of fresh troops, of the naval mutiny at Sebastopol, 
of the unpopularity of the war, and finally the terrible 
tale of the shooting down of the petitioners before the 
Winter Palace in January, 1905. We may be sure these 
stories did not lose in the telling. 



WAR AGAIN, 1904 173 

The most serious interruption to this friendly inter- 
course was in the last week of January. The Japanese 
had taken Port Arthur, the Winter Palace tragedy was 
filling the thoughts of all Russia, and it seemed a political 
necessity to win a battle just at this moment, though it 
was the coldest month of a specially cold winter. So the 
Russians to the south and south-west of Moukden left 
their cosy dug-outs, and drove back the Japanese outer 
line. For five days there was desperate carnage, and the 
large proportion of deaths among the casualties tells what 
terrible havoc the cold wrought. But the necessary 
victory was not won, and with thinned ranks the armies 
settled down again, apparently as before. Only it was 
noticed that there was less hopefulness among the 
Russians, they were beginning to regard the war as an 
unlucky one, foredoomed to failure. 

Just as the year closed I had an interesting experience. 
On 29 December an urgent summons came for me to go 
to the medical aid of one of our missionaries in Kaiyuan, 
seventy miles up the line. At first the difficulty of getting 
there seemed insurmountable. None but troop trains 
were running, and no passes were given. At last, with the 
help of friends, I obtained a pass to travel on the Imperial 
Red Cross train, which was to go north with wounded 
that night. The train was the one presented by the 
Dowager-Empress, and was a revelation of the possibilities 
of comfort and luxury. I was given a large state-room, 
and dined and slept in royal style. The doctors in charge 
received me with great courtesy and kindness, showing 
me over the whole train with its perfect medical equip- 
ment. Next day we reached Kaiyuan ; and, having done 
my work there, I returned to the station, some miles from 
the town, on the morning of the 31st. So far things had 
gone smoothly, but to get back to Moukden was the 
difficulty. 

For twenty-six hours I waited at Kaiyuan station, 
with a very anxious mind. The railway had been cut by 



174 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

the Japanese once already, and it was expected to happen 
again any day, so that I might be stranded. The Red 
Cross hospital at the station was in charge of a Countess, 
who spoke English perfectly and had spent some time in 
Edinburgh. Among her staff of nurses were Princesses, 
Countesses, and other ladies, whose husbands were at the 
front. She and they were most kind, inviting me into the 
warmth and shelter of their hospital. I dined with them, 
and the Countess arranged that I should occupy a vacant 
doctor's room, with two Cossacks to attend me. One of 
them was to remain awake and call me when a train came. 
I slept little, but lay listening to the bursts of singing from 
the soldiers, full ringing unison, breaking now and again 
into rich harmony. Several times I was roused by the 
arrival of a train, and went out into the biting cold, but 
it was going the wrong direction, or it was already full 
and I was not allowed on it. 

At last, about midday, I succeeded in getting away. 
The train was a marked contrast to the last I was in, 
consisting of filthy fourth-class carriages crowded to 
overflowing with soldiers for the front. It was cold, but 
the windows being hermetically sealed, the air was close 
and stifling. All that New Year's Day of 1905 I sat there 
crushed in a corner among men to whom I could not talk, 
but I was thankful to be there and to reach Moukden 
station by midnight. After considerable difficulty at the 
gates in getting past the Russian guard, I arrived home 
in the small hours of the morning. 

Towards the end of 1904 some of the ladies returned to 
Moukden, and in February, 1905, my family came back 
also. One of our servants went to Hsin-min-tun to meet 
them, with our much-used pass sewed inside his clothes. 
From there they started in carts before daylight. The 
winter roads were hard and smooth, and good speed was 
possible, if only the Russians did not turn them back. 
The children were instructed to do their best, by laughing 
to the soldiers, to put them in a good humour, for Russians 



WAR AGAIN, 1904 175 

are all child-lovers. Several times mounted Cossacks 
roughly stopped the carts, but the official document which 
they could not read did its work, and the sight of nothing 
but a lady, an amah, and some smiling children. Each 
time the pass was thrown back and the soldiers rode 
away ; so the party went on without delay, reaching the 
Small River bank with thankful hearts long before dark, 
just the day before the great battle began. 



XIX 



IN THE MIDST OF THE BATTLE OF MOUKDEN 

" A sound 

As of the trailing skirts of Destiny, 
Passing unseen, to some immitigable end 
With her grey henchman, Death." 

W. E. Henley. 

IT was now the middle of February, 1905, and the 
extreme cold was over. Occasional thaws might be 
expected, but there were still several weeks before spring 
would turn the hard roads and plains into heavy deep 
mud. A Japanese advance was daily looked for, and the 
Russians were well prepared to stand their ground. But 
whatever they said we had no doubt as to the issue : 
sooner or later the Japanese would certainly enter Mouk- 
den. We had little apprehension of any serious trouble. 
The Chinese Government was stable and had things well 
in hand, and the Japanese would certainly avoid shelling 
the city. There was some talk of turning our vegetable- 
pits into bomb-proof shelters, but nothing of the kind 
was done. 

The battle, or rather the series of battles, called the 
Battle of Moukden, began on 19 February, and lasted 
until 10 March ; and during all this time the roar of 
artillery, distant or near, was so constant that a silence 
attracted one's attention. It is estimated that about a 
million soldiers were engaged, perhaps a quarter of whom 
were killed or wounded. The Russians were constantly 
reporting victories, and confidently predicting complete 
success. With a line of battle extending in a curve of 

176 



IN THE MIDST OF THE BATTLE 177 

over a hundred miles, there was opportunity for many- 
minor victories at the same time as a general defeat. 

To our east and south-east there was desperate fighting 
among the mountains with Kuroki's men and others, 
and General Kuropatkin was beguiled into believing that 
here was to be the main Japanese attack. South of us 
the Russians were so strongly entrenched and fortified 
along the Sha-ho, that it was believed to be impossible for 
Nodzu to drive them back. Here the cannonade was 
unceasing. Eight miles direct south of us, Potiloff Hill 
was taken and retaken in all eight times. I visited it 
afterwards, and the sight was appalling. For a mile 
round the ground was thick with broken shells, cartridges, 
and splintered stones. The hill was honeycombed with a 
network of trenches, underground stables, etc., all 
opening to the northern or Russian side. Its whole 
upper part had been blown away by the heavy Port 
Arthur siege -guns, which had been brought up by 
Nodzu, the heaviest artillery ever known in field warfare. 
It was this which broke the impregnable Russian defence 
in this region. We found traces of it in fragments of 
eleven-inch shells. 

Farther west there was dogged fighting on both sides 
for possession of the plain where the fruitless battle of 
January had been fought, and here step by step the 
Russians were pressed back by Oku. At the same time 
Nogi, with another army, popularly supposed to have 
gone east to help Kuroki in the hills, was really going west 
behind Oku's men, and then north by Hsin-min-tun to 
turn Kuropatkin's flank. 

In Moukden we quietly went on with our work among 
the many wounded Chinese and refugees who poured in 
upon us, and I had not a few patients among attaches. 
war correspondents, and Russian officers. With great 
interest we noted day by day the changes in the sounds 
of firing. We heard the new heavy Japanese artillery 
which seemed to come into play to the south on the 27th, 



178 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

the Port Arthur siege -guns, and the gradual creeping 
nearer and nearer of the cannonading where Oku was 
gaining inch by inch to the south-west. Then great fires 
were seen one night on the horizon, the burning of the 
Russian stores before falling back. Refugees poured in 
daily from villages which had been behind the Russian 
lines, but were now between the armies or in the hands of 
the Japanese. They told sadly of great Russian stores 
given to the flames, but one merciful commander gave 
notice to the Chinese still lingering round their ruined 
homesteads that he would give them four hours to loot. 
After that there was little left to burn. 

Suddenly there was firing due west, and next day 
some refugees told us they had been stopped by Japanese, 
not Russians, on the Liao River near Hsin-min-tun. On 
that same day the Chinese Imperial Post, which had 
gone via Hsin-min-tun all winter, ceased running. This 
was our first intimation that the Japanese were in force 
so far north. Their semicircle was now complete, and 
this western wing began to curl round eastwards. 
Authorities say that as late as 6 March there was still a 
fair chance of success for Russia. A victory was reported 
with the capture of forty Japanese, and the attaches told 
us that the Russians were more than holding their own. 
Hearing Chinese reports, listening to the firing, watching 
the constant stream of Russian transport wagons heaped 
with baggage which rumbled away to the north along the 
road just outside the wall — we had our own thoughts. 

One afternoon, as we walked on the plain and listened 
to the guns, trying to decide which were Japanese and 
which Russian, we suddenly became conscious that 
besides the loud booming we were accustomed to, there 
were distinct sharp reports from smaller guns from the 
north-west. This was Nogi*s army, fighting its way towards 
the railway, to cut the Russian communications once for 
all. After three days of the fiercest fighting of the whole 
war all along the whole line of battle, on Tuesday, the 7th, 



IN THE MIDST OF THE BATTLE 179 

the railway was cut to the north, Nodzu broke through 
the defence on the southern front, driving the Russians 
back on their entrenchments on the Hun River, and at 
the same time both east and west were hardly pressed. 
That evening Kuropatkin wired to St. Petersburg : "I 
am surrounded" 

This was hardly true, however. The railway was not 
yet taken, the breach was repaired, fresh reinforcements 
were hurried down from the north to hold Nogi in check, 
and in the night Kuropatkin gave secret orders for the 
orderly retreat on Tiding which was to save the larger 
portion of his army. The position prepared there was 
forty miles away, so time was needed. In Moukden 
nothing was heard of the order for evacuation, the 
Japanese must be held back for another day at all cost. 

Next morning, Wednesday, the 8th, there was heavy 
firing due north of us, shaking the windows, the rush of 
the shells through the air being plainly heard. The 
Russians were occupying the North Tomb woods which 
lie just beyond the railway, and here for two days there 
was sharp fighting. A little nearer, a captive balloon 
floated and watched. Just outside the wall a few hundred 
yards from us, a constant stream of cavalry and transport 
passed north, and we heard that the railway and the roads 
beside it were crowded night and day. When darkness 
fell, the sight from our attics was terribly grand. Four 
miles to the south the great Russian stores of fuel and 
grain were in flames. Bridges and villages were also 
burning, and the whole sky was ablaze. Close at hand 
were the fires of a large cavalry camp. High in the air 
the shrapnel were bursting into stars, and the roar of 
artillery was incessant from every direction. 

On 9 March one of the worst dust-storms on record 
enveloped the armies, and fought against the Russians. 
There was a powerful warm south wind, bearing with it 
the fine loess dust characteristic of this country, so 
thickly that sometimes for five minutes at a time we 



180 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

could not from our windows see the brick wall eighteen 
yards distant. The Russians had this blinding tempest 
in their faces as they fought, and under its cover the 
Japanese crossed the Hun River on the rotting ice. One 
day later the Hun was broken up into great ice-floes, 
and crossing would have been impossible in face of 
Russian guns. " Verily Heaven is on the side of Japan ! " 
remarked the Chinese. The retreat was steady and 
methodical, and in this the dust-storm aided Russia. 
Trains ran constantly ; every road and track was 
thronged ; constant righting kept the Japanese back 
and the way open ; the Russian eastern and western 
wings were withdrawn, and gradually the front was 
retreating ; pom-pom and rifle fire drew nearer us, 
sounding muffled through the thick dust. 

From time to time for the past fortnight we had had 
serious difficulties with drunken Russian soldiers. They 
entered our Refuges, terrified the women, and threatened 
our lives when we expelled them. This culminated on the 
Tuesday night, when two fully armed artillerymen 
entered the Women's Hospital, threatening us with 
loaded revolvers and drawn swords, and were only got 
rid of after great difficulty. Again on this Thursday 
morning, the last day of the battle, a soldier tried to get 
into our private compound, and threatened to kill our 
watchman for preventing him. These were not mere 
idle threats. People wounded in this way came daily 
to the hospitals, and we heard of many killed. Just at 
that moment the Russian Chief of Police came to see me 
on purpose to offer us a guard. He promptly arrested the 
man, and insisted on sending us some Russian soldiers 
to prevent further trouble. In the evening they arrived, 
and we provided them with supper and a room for them 
to sleep in, in relays. 

As darkness drew near the wind fell. The firing was 
close to us on the south and south-east, the rearguard 
action of the retreating Russians. The end could not be 



IN THE MIDST OF THE BATTLE 181 

far off. That night at 1 a.m. we were roused by loud 
shouting and knocking at our gate. A messenger had 
come to recall our guard in haste, for the order for the 
immediate evacuation of Moukden had been issued at 
11 p.m. For a time the last thunder of the Russian guns 
was so loud that we could not hear ourselves speak, and 
the crackle of the pom-poms and the sharp rifle fire were 
incessant. We found afterwards that they had passed 
in the darkness, firing as they went, within a quarter of a 
mile to the east of us. Then for a couple of hours there 
was comparative quiet and we slept. 

At dawn on Friday, the 10th, we were suddenly roused 
by deafening Japanese artillery fire. They had brought 
their guns forward and were shelling the retreating 
Russians, whose rifle fire we could hear in reply. The 
scream of the shells seemed almost overhead. One fell 
in the road close to us, but did not explode, several others 
in or beside the Small River. A shrapnel ball struck 
an earthen wall near by, and several bullets fell in our 
compounds, but no one was injured. Some Russians 
were killed on the Small River bank outside the wall, a 
couple of hundred yards away. Then the rifle fire ceased, 
and the battle passed on to the north. 

During the forenoon companies of Japanese quietly 
entered Moukden, but the Russian evacuation was not 
yet complete. Several thousand had failed to get away 
in time, and in the afternoon some of these tried to 
escape by the northern of the two east gates. The 
Japanese outside opposed them, and there was a short, 
sharp engagement, some of the Russians sheltered 
inside the outer city wall, which they loopholed, firing 
east and south. We were surprised by the sudden patter 
of rifle bullets on the roof when in the midst of an opera- 
tion, and looking out we saw our hospital coolies running 
for shelter with an arm over the head as if to protect 
it. A dropping rain of bullets continued in our com- 
pounds, and wild stories circulated of the many thousand 



182 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Russians in hiding in the city. In little more than an 
hour all was over. Those who had tried to break through 
the Japanese lines were killed or captured. The rest 
retired to the compound containing the Russian Church, 
where they surrendered later. 

All that Friday cannonading continued to the north, 
gradually receding till it died away in a dull booming, 
and there was silence. The battle of Moukden was over. 
In the evening the Japanese cut off the retreat of many 
thousand Russians fifteen miles north of the city. 

Throughout the war the sympathies of the Chinese were 
no doubt on the side of Japan. The Japanese had left a 
good record behind them ten years before ; a Japanese 
occupation of which they knew nothing was presumably 
preferable to a Russian occupation whose drawbacks 
they knew ; and finally, they were of kindred race, and 
this was the first time the East seemed to have a prospect 
of conquering the West. At the same time the Chinese 
took no side in the struggle. " It is not our affair," they 
constantly said. Villagers were coerced into giving 
information and acting as guides and scouts, but this 
was equally so on both sides. As far as the missionary 
body in Manchuria was concerned, absolute neutrality 
was observed, neither help nor hindrance being afforded 
to either side, except healing in the Red Cross hospitals. 

The minute information possessed by the Japanese 
regarding the Russians was due to their own spies, not to 
Chinese. For several years before the war, secret service 
officers and men had been scattered throughout Man- 
churia, disguised as Chinese. They let their hair grow, 
wore queues, spoke Chinese with what passed for a 
southern accent, and, of course, the type of face is some- 
what similar. They took service with Russians, learned 
their language, and when war began were ready to be of 
use to their country. The risk does not seem to have been 
counted. A " Chinese " barber who regularly attended 
the Russian headquarters staff in Moukden up to the 



IN THE MIDST OF THE BATTLE 183 

evacuation was a Japanese spy, as were several of their 
table-boys and valets. They had in this way a thoroughly 
organized secret service throughout the Russian army, 
with runners via Hsin-min-tun to the Japanese head- 
quarters. 

One day, soon after the battle ended, I was told that a 
Chinaman wished to see me. From his appearance and 
accent I took him to be a Cantonese, but he soon un- 
deceived me. This was his story. He was a Japanese 
spy who had lived in Manchuria for several years and 
knew the country well. To disarm suspicion he had an 
office in the city, where he carried on genuine business. 
He made friends with many Russians, who frequently 
visited him, and he had close business relations with the 
army. At the same time he had a staff under him, and 
sent dispatches regularly to headquarters. During the 
battle of Moukden he had a financial difference with a 
Chinese confederate, and had reason to fear he was 
betrayed. He barred his door securely while making 
preparations for flight. At midnight there was a noise 
outside. After some delay some Russian soldiers got in 
and began to batter the door of his room. He threw open 
the back window and, with a loaded revolver in each 
hand, awaited them. When the door was burst in, he 
fired repeatedly with both weapons simultaneously and 
saw several Russians fall. Then he jumped out of the 
window, and, in his own words, "never stopped until he 
reached Hsin-min-tun." 



XX 

THE SUFFERINGS OF THE INNOCENT 

" Towns without people, ten times took, 
And ten times left and burned at last 
And starving dogs that came to look 
For owners when a column passed." 

Rudyard Kipling. 

THROUGHOUT the war area all these months the 
distress among the Chinese was acute. Many of the 
well-to-do had fled with their possessions early in the 
summer to safer districts, and gradually large numbers 
of the humbler country folk brought their families into 
the cities, renting houses or lodging with friends. Still 
most of the inhabitants of the innumerable villages 
on the wide level fertile plain south and west of Mouk- 
den remained in their homes, hoping against hope that 
the fighting would not come near them. 

When the Russians fell back from Liaoyang in Sep- 
tember, many of these villages were occupied by troops, 
and during the next few weeks crowds of refugees flocked 
into Moukden in successive waves. On the main street 
of the south suburb might sometimes be seen a continuous 
heterogeneous stream, while the townsfolk looked on 
from the doorways and side- walks. Here were farm 
carts drawn by all the animals available — mules, horses, 
donkeys, cows, and laden with grain, millet-stalk, or 
household gear, women and children huddling among 
the bundles. There were lines of weary foot-passengers, 
most of the men bearing their belongings suspended from 
a pole across the shoulders, while the women carried the 
babies. 

184 



THE SUFFERINGS OF THE INNOCENT 185 

Where were such crowds to be housed ? Many found 
temporary shelter in temples, many more slept on the 
streets under the projecting eaves of the houses. House 
rents in the city ran up to fabulous prices, till the 
Governor-General issued a proclamation making it 
illegal to charge more than a definite sum for each room. 
Many who were Christians looked to their fellow-Chris- 
tians for help, and for weeks several hundred were 
sheltered in the church compound and other buildings. 
Scores of homeless, knowing the benevolent nature of the 
hospital, gathered round our doors, and before long we 
opened a Refuge, admitting Christians and others in- 
discriminately. 

Systematic aid was evidently necessary, for the misery 
must increase as winter approached and with each 
successive battle. This was not war on a small scale, like 
the Chino -Japanese war of ten years before, nor the 
march of a column through a limited area like the Russian 
conquest after the Boxer time. The whole breadth of 
the country from the inaccessible mountains to the Liao 
River was occupied by the armies, and as the fighting 
moved northwards the size of those armies grew ever 
greater. 

In our extremity the Shanghai Red Cross and Refugee 
Aid Society came to our help, undertaking to supply us 
with funds and surgical requisites, and later on there 
was assistance from Tientsin and other places also. The 
Rev. James Webster was the Secretary in Newchwang, 
making known our needs, forwarding our supplies, and 
acting as a very necessary intermediary with the outside 
world. The Rev. James W. Inglis and I were asked 
to administer the funds and superintend the relief work 
in Moukden. At the same time the Governor-General, 
Tseng Chi, still the same as at the Boxer time, was 
arranging for similar Refugee aid from Government funds, 
and was anxious to co-operate with us. We had several 
interviews with him about it, and all through the winter 



186 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

we worked harmoniously, his representatives meeting 
with us in committee. One Refuge after another was 
opened for temporary or permanent relief. Sometimes, 
after a few days with us, a family would find a friend's 
house to go to. Frequently when the women and children 
had settled down in a Refuge, their men would return 
home to save what they could from the wreck, so that 
male inmates were always in a minority. 

Before long we were faced with the impossibility of 
maintaining a supply of grain, as all carts were com- 
mandeered by the Russians ; and indeed the city was 
threatened with famine. In this emergency the Chinese 
Government stepped in and made arrangements with the 
Russians to issue special permits for carts from the north 
with grain and fuel, and the danger was averted. The 
price of grain, however, remained at several times what 
was usual, and millet -stalk was six times its normal 
price. All food stuffs were dear in proportion, and coal 
which we used in our houses was £5 a ton. 

When the battle of the Sha-ho began in October, the 
friendly attitude of the Russians to the villagers altered. 
They seem to have become soured, and charged the 
Chinese with betraying them to the enemy. Village after 
village was cleared of its inhabitants, who had to escape 
in haste for their lives, taking nothing with them. After 
the battle came the systematic destruction of villages to 
provide quarters for the Russian army. The posts and 
roof -timbers were all used as props for the underground 
shelters, so that nothing remained of hundreds of prosper- 
ous villages but fallen walls, isolated gables, and solitary 
chimneys. The inhabitants reached Moukden absolutely 
destitute, having lost their worldly all, and our numbers 
grew rapidly, sometimes as many as a thousand being 
admitted to our Refuges in one day. 

During the first three months of 1905 we were support- 
ing over ten thousand people, and the Government over 
thirty-eight thousand. It is estimated that there were 




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THE SUFFERINGS OF THE INNOCENT 187 

from first to last about ninety thousand refugees in 
Moukden, besides the thousands who fled to Hsin-min-tun 
and other places. 

The housing of these crowds was no easy problem, but 
as one night without shelter in winter would have meant 
death to many, the most makeshift accommodation was 
thankfully accepted. We commandeered one or two 
large empty compounds whose owners had fled, paying 
rent if demanded. Our ruined hospital compound 
accommodated about seven hundred. Before the frost, 
the refugees themselves dug out dwellings about two feet 
below ground-level, making walls of the earth and old 
bricks from the ruins, without any mortar. A few posts 
were enough to support the roofing of millet-stalk and 
mud, with a light outer coating of lime. Inside, long 
lcangs were built of the broken bricks, matting was spread, 
and they were ready for occupation. 

One of the largest and best-known temples in Moukden 
opened its doors free of charge to our refugees. Here 
semi-dug-outs similar to those just described occupied the 
compound, and outhouses and temple tower sheltered 
some score. The long corridor called " Buddha's Walk," 
by which the invisible Buddha is supposed to transfer 
himself from one of his images to another, was also used 
for human habitation. A couple of stoves, strangely 
incongruous with the traditions of the place, raised the 
temperature a little above freezing-point. The main 
temple buildings were left untouched, and worshippers 
continued to visit them, and priests to burn incense as 
usual. The priests made not the slightest objection 
to the holding of a Christian service in their temple 
every evening, in fact it was an interesting variety in their 
life. The Guild-house of the Che-kiang provincials was 
also lent to us, and we occupied two theatres, a bank, 
and several other buildings. 

In all these primitive or adapted dwellings the refugees 
lived contentedly, in spite of conditions and surroundings 



188 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

which we would consider misery. They cooked their own 
food and did all their own work ; they had abundance 
to talk about and plenty of neighbours to talk to ; they 
had food and shelter, and winter clothing and bedding 
were supplied to those who lacked them. The women 
did the necessary sewing ; there was room in the com- 
pounds for the children to play in the sunshine, and every 
evening the monotony of their lives was broken by a 
Christian service with lively hymn-singing, which they 
could attend or not as they pleased. Naturally the over- 
sight of these many refugees meant a great deal of hard 
work. 

It can well be understood that the sanitary condition 
of Moukden at this time was not good. Epidemics were 
frequent. In our Refuges with their crowds of children, 
measles, chicken-pox, and scarlet fever were constantly 
present, and there was an epidemic of smallpox which 
carried away a number of little ones. Isolation was im- 
possible except for typhus fever, for which we had a 
special compound. Fortunately there was no epidemic 
of enteric fever, though there were all the conditions 
likely to bring it about. 

Throughout the war the general hospital work was very 
heavy. During my absence in summer it had been carried 
on in the women's hospital buildings by my assistants, 
and in autumn we arranged for four separate hospitals. 
The men, being far the most numerous, continued to 
occupy the new spacious women's hospital, which had 
been rebuilt the summer before the war, and here both 
men and women out-patients were seen. For the women 
in-patients we used an old temple almost next door to 
our hospital ruins, the San Yi Miao, Temple of the Three 
Righteous Ones. The priest was an opium wreck, glad to 
make a little money by renting it to us. The idols were 
screened off by matting, and the patients lay at their feet. 
There were also two temporary fever hospitals. Fortu- 
nately I had at this time a medical colleague, Dr. W. A. 




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THE SUFFERINGS OF THE INNOCENT 189 

Young, and the ladies were able to return in De- 
cember. 

Not only were there the ordinary daily patients, and 
the many sick among our own and the Government 
refugees, but we had hundreds of wounded from the 
neighbourhood of the fighting, chiefly men. Many poor 
fellows, and some women too, lingered about their homes 
too long, and were shot among the Russians, or caught 
between the opposing fires. We heard of a hundred 
Chinese lying wounded in a village ten miles away, 
after the Sha-ho battle, and made fruitless efforts to 
send a Red Cross party to their help through the Russian 
lines. Just at that time a Russian Baron called, and on 
hearing our difficulties expressed much sympathy. 

" If you can find a Chinese carter," he said, " who is 
willing to go, I will undertake to get him through and 
to give him a pass to bring back the wounded." 

Chinese carters were most reluctant to be hired by 
Russians, as they did not know to what dangers they 
might be exposed ; but we were well known and easily 
got a man who promised to do his best. We sent a 
hospital man with him, and handed him over to our 
friend the Baron, who was leaving Moukden at the same 
time. Then we patiently waited for the wounded to 
arrive. Some days later the carter returned in great 
indignation. The Baron and his friends had used the 
cart to convey their own baggage ; he had not been near 
the village, nor was he allowed to look for wounded. 
Such heartless deceit, however, is far from characteristic 
of most of the Russians whom we met. 

The times between the battles came to be almost as 
much dreaded by the Chinese as the fighting itself. 
In the early days of the war, the Russian common soldier 
and the Chinese peasant were very good friends, but the 
blood-lust of battle changes all things, and deeds were 
done too terrible to repeat. People were killed because 
they failed to understand what Russians meant, or 



190 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

because unwilling to give up their animals. A man was 
made to lead some Cossacks to a village, and because he 
could not run fast enough they bayoneted him. A party 
of eighteen farmers and labourers were accused of being 
brigands, tied with ropes to some Cossacks' horses, and 
made to run the forty miles to Moukden. Two fell ex- 
hausted and were killed on the spot. On arrival the 
remaining sixteen were acquitted, but several suffered 
long and sorely from that painful journey. A whole 
family were hiding in a pit when some Russians passed. 
Someone suggested that they were Japanese spies, and 
the soldiers fired down on them, killing all but one woman, 
who was left for dead. Some time later another Russian 
company passed. Hearing her groans, one of them had 
pity on her and had her carried into Moukden, where she 
came to our hospital. Such deeds of kindness and mercy 
on the part of the Russians were common, more so than 
the deeds of cruelty. 

During the battle of Moukden very many Chinese were 
killed. Sometimes the line of firing would swing round 
suddenly and a village would find itself overwhelmed 
and cut off from retreat. Not a few were killed or wounded 
when fleeing from their burning dwellings. One of our 
Bible women remained in her home all the time, though 
it was in the very midst of the fighting, and bullets and 
shells rained around. The Russians occupied the village 
and loopholed the walls ; they were driven out and the 
Japanese occupied it ; still she and her old husband 
crouched and prayed, and then praised God for their 
deliverance. Their son was hired by the Japanese as a 
cook, and would only serve them if his mother was 
allowed to remain. When the Russian fire became very 
hot, the Japanese directed her to stand up against the 
northern wall between the two windows by which the 
bullets were entering. 

When Moukden was evacuated and the fighting was at 
our doors, the wounded poured into the hospital. Early 



THE SUFFERINGS OF THE INNOCENT 191 

in the morning, that last day of the battle, they began to 
arrive, and soon we forgot the sound of the guns. Hearing 
that a number of Chinese and some Russians were lying 
wounded outside the city wall, we sent out Red Cross 
stretcher-bearers. By 9 a.m. the operating-room pre- 
sented a lively scene, and all day long we were hard at 
work, as one after another Chinese and Russians were 
carried in. When these Russians who were left in Mouk- 
den failed in their last effort to escape, two of them seem 
to have gone mad. Just outside the northern east gate 
were large Chinese barracks, turned by Government into a 
Refuge where some two thousand people were housed. 
Into this these men ran, shooting off their rifles at anyone 
they met. A woman was nursing her baby a few weeks 
old, when one burst into her room and fired. The bullet 
passed through mother and child, killing it and wounding 
her severely, and then wounded her twelve-year-old 
daughter. In that one room two were killed and four 
wounded. 

Our ministrations were not confined to Chinese and 
Russians. The same day a Japanese soldier, evidently 
worn out and ill, stumbled along our terrace. He was 
invited into one of the compounds, and after being 
refreshed with tea was directed to our hospital, whose 
Red Cross flag he evidently welcomed. Then another 
Japanese, seeing the flag, came to tell us that there were 
some wounded just outside the wall. Some hospital men 
were taken out to help them, and two carts full of Japanese 
wounded were brought in. We got a room ready for them 
with all speed, as it was manifestly undesirable that they 
and our wounded Russians should be together. During 
the next few days we admitted a good many Japanese and 
Russians, and did our best for their comfort and healing. 
The Russians were at first in terror that the Japanese 
would kill them, and grateful to be with us, but by the 
time they were removed as prisoners their fears had died 
away. The Japanese too left us when their own hospitals 



192 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

were in full working order. For our matter-of-course 
impartial Red Cross help, we received the generous 
recognition of both Russians and Japanese. 

Outside Moukden the line of the Russian retreat was 
strewn with warm caps, heavy felt-lined boots, and other 
things which the Russians had cast aside in their haste 
and heat those mild spring days ; and all the camps 
round the city, like the cavalry camp close to us, were 
littered with articles of value to the Chinese. The battle 
had hardly passed by when they stole out to pick up what 
they could, in spite of the risk of being shot as looters by 
the Japanese soldiers who were gathering in Russian 
transport wagons, hand carts, field guns, and many other 
articles. 

Among the things picked up by the Chinese all over 
the countryside, there were unfortunately many un- 
exploded shells, hand grenades, etc., which caused scores 
of deaths and many hundred wounds. One man near the 
North Tomb found a huge shell with part of the fuse left. 
Thinking it was a lamp, he took it home, placed it on a 
table to show to the household, and lit the fuse. Only one 
wounded man was left alive of that company. Another 
put his find into the fire to melt it, and the whole house 
was demolished and all in it killed or wounded. 

During the succeeding months many children and others 
were seriously injured by playing with these dangerous 
explosives — eyes were destroyed, hands and legs blown 
off, and a good many were killed outright. When the 
cultivation of the ground began, ploughs and hoes 
exploded shells and cartridges by accident, with dis- 
astrous consequences. Even as late as two years after- 
wards such accidents continued to happen. In a few 
months we amputated in Moukden alone from this one 
cause over a hundred hands or parts of hands and many 
legs, besides treating other injuries. 

The condition of the country round Moukden after the 
battle was most insanitary, though the Japanese, fully 



THE SUFFERINGS OF THE INNOCENT 193 

awake to the danger, used every possible means of 
remedying it. The dogs, left without homes and preying 
on the dead, became ferocious wild beasts. One actually 
entered our Refuge in the hospital ruins, and tore a baby 
from the hang. It was driven off with difficulty, leaving 
the child severely bitten. 

The battle was no sooner over than men among the 
refugees began to slip away back to their homes ; but 
women and children continued to arrive from north of 
the city where the bulk of the Japanese army now lay, 
so that for a time our numbers increased instead of 
diminishing. All the refugees were anxious to get home 
in good time to start ploughing, which is usually done in 
April. There were serious difficulties before these poor 
people. The homes of at least half had been destroyed, 
and the others wrecked and plundered, doors, windows, 
and furniture being burned as fuel. Their animals and 
farm implements were gone, and they had no grain for 
seed. We consulted with the Chinese Government, and 
approached the Japanese authorities on their behalf, and 
finally it was arranged that in those districts where the 
destruction had been most general the people were to be 
allowed to occupy the " dug-outs " used by the Russians 
and Japanese during the winter. The Governor-General 
made a small grant to the head of each household to buy 
seed to make a fresh start. 

Gradually the people returned to their land, making 
shift as best they could for the summer. There was a very 
good harvest, and before winter most families had built 
themselves some sort of home. There were still many 
fields and great stretches of land uncultivated, and the 
rival armies faced each other farther north far into the 
summer. Even when peace was signed it was but slowly 
that the Japanese army was withdrawn, and the effects 
of the war were felt in Manchuria for many a day. In the 
aspect of the landscape there was one conspicuous change, 
the disappearance of trees, To this day there are long, 



194 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

bare, treeless stretches where formerly there were clusters 
of poplars, pines, or willows every few hundred yards. 

Throughout the Japanese occupation our relations with 
their officials were most cordial. Their gratitude to us 
for receiving their wounded was the beginning of constant 
friendly intercourse. Marshal Oyama, the Commander- 
in-Chief, himself called on us, a most kindly and winning 
personality, of simple, unaffected dignity. We could 
only talk through our interpreter, and this was also the 
case with General Oku, whose decimated army occupied 
Moukden. But General Fukushima and others knew 
English, and they called frequently. Altogether we have 
a most happy recollection of our intercourse with the 
Japanese Headquarters Staff. Among military attaches 
and war correspondents with both armies we also made 
many friends. 

At last Japanese military occupation came to an end, 
soldiers were withdrawn to the railway zone, which was 
now Japanese from Port Arthur to Kwan-cheng-tze, 
and only lesser officials were left in Moukden and other 
places. When the Chinese began to breathe again after 
the terrors and hardships of war, there was a general 
feeling of disillusionment and bitter disappointment. 
The justice and mercy of the Japanese at the time of the 
previous war had been extolled, and all excesses forgotten. 
The victors had now a great opportunity of making 
lasting friends of these Manchurian farmers, so often 
harried by war, who were eager to hail them as brethren 
and deliverers. Thus the way might easily have been 
paved for the permanent possession of the country, 
desired by many. But whatever their leaders and higher 
officials might aim at, the ordinary Japanese soldiers 
and civilians who came to Manchuria were incapable of 
realizing this position. A great nation had been defeated, 
Japan was exalted and supreme, China was nothing. 
They came not as deliverers but as victors, and treated 
the Chinese with contempt as a conquered people. 



THE SUFFERINGS OF THE INNOCENT 195 

Then with peace came crowds of the lowest and most 
undesirable part of the Japanese nation. The Chinese 
continued to suffer as before, and the disappointment 
made their resentment the more keen. The deeds of 
soldiers, however brutal, they might readily condone, 
knowing what their own soldiery would do ; but now 
that the war was over they could see no reason for the 
continued injustice and extortion of the many low-class 
civilians who remained. As one remarked : 

" The Russians sometimes took our property for 
nothing, but more often paid four times its worth. The 
Japanese profess to pay for everything, but never give 
more than a quarter the real value." 

Thus there grew and rankled in the popular mind an 
unfortunate dislike for the Japanese, a suspicion of their 
motives, an unwillingness to have dealings with them, 
which feelings are difficult to eradicate. 



XXI 

RECONSTRUCTION 

H.E. Chao Er Sun, Governor-General, 1905-1907 

" The common problem, yours, mine, every one's, 
Is — not to fancy what were fair in life 
Provided it could be — but, finding first 
What may be, then find how to make it fair 
Up to our means : a very different thing ! " 

" Bishop \Blougram " — R. Browning. 

WITH the close of the Russo-Japanese war Manchuria 
entered on a new era. Hitherto she had been left 
in a haphazard way to old-fashioned officials who were 
for the most part unenlightened and conservative, 
knowing nothing of foreign countries, looking upon the 
study of the Confucian Classics as the only education 
worthy of the name, and quite ignorant of the aspirations 
which were stirring the minds of a large part of China's 
youth. To give them their due, be it said that many 
among these officials were humane, unselfish, conscien- 
tious, seeking according to their lights to do their best 
for the people to whom they stood in the place of father. 
H.E. Tseng Chi, Governor-General during both Boxer 
and war times, was one of these. He had not sufficient 
strength of character nor insight into the trend of events 
to make him hold out against Boxer influences, but the 
tragedies of that summer cut him to the heart, and when 
all was over he was very willing to atone. He was then 
for the first time brought into personal contact with 
foreigners, both the Russians and the missionaries. His 
attitude to the former was a helpless dignified aloofness, 

196 




H.E. CHAO ER SU\ T , VICEROY 
One of the men available, a notable financier . . . the future. 



RECONSTRUCTION 197 

and to the latter an apologetic, courteous, but somewhat 
distant friendliness. The best of his kindly nature was 
shown in his treatment of the refugees. They were his 
children in trouble, and he strained his financial resources 
to the utmost to help them. 

The Russo-Japanese war seems to have awakened the 
Central Government somewhat tardily to the importance 
of Manchuria. For the first time a Governor-General of 
outstanding merit was appointed, not a Manchu, as 
always before, but a Chinese Bannerman, Chao Er Sun, 
one of the ablest men available and a notable financier. 
He was not young, he had never been abroad, he knew 
no foreign language, his own education had been entirely 
on the old lines, and he was not in sympathy with the 
Progressive Party overthrown at the coup d'etat. In spite 
of all this, he was a man of the future, not of the past. 
He saw what China needed, he understood what Man- 
churia had to fear, and he threw himself with energy 
into the task of introducing the most needed reforms. 
This he did in a quiet, gradual way which did not alarm 
the people. He was with us less than two years, but in 
that time Manchuria went far. 

Chao Er Sun's watchword might have been expressed 
as " Progress, Efficiency, and Economy." Scores of paid 
officials had little or no work to do ; these he dismissed, 
and sought to gather round him men like himself, eager 
for good hard work. His personal expenses he cut down 
to the lowest point, living simply, with a small retinue 
and no pomp. He abolished the restrictions at his gate, 
which prevented any man from having access to him 
without first feeing heavily half a dozen underlings, and 
opened his ear to the appeal of all. He did his best to 
discourage bribery and to reward uprightness and faith- 
fulness to duty. He frequently went out in disguise to 
find out for himself the true condition of things, and in 
this way visited courts of justice and other public institu- 
tions. His influence was consistently exerted in favour 



198 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

of elevating the moral tone of the community. Naturally 
he made many enemies, and it was some time before his 
sterling worth was generally recognized. 

One of his most striking reforms was the abolition of 
opium smoking. This vice had never been so common in 
Manchuria as in some parts of China, still there were a 
large number of smokers, chiefly among the well-to-do 
and yamen employees, and many through its use had 
sunk to be the dregs of the population. Merchants would 
have no man in their employ who smoked, and it was 
everywhere regarded without qualification as a vice, 
though a fashionable one. The cultivation of the poppy 
was illegal, but very lucrative. During the years since 
1900 it had rapidly increased, some of those officials 
whose duty it was to prevent it receiving a share of the 
gains. Year by year the poppies waved more unblushingly 
their beautiful alluring heads. We began to see fields 
of them close to the city, in inconspicuous hollows aside 
from the main road. Then they boldly crept nearer, 
till in Chao Er Sun's first summer we could feast our 
eyes on the exquisitely delicate tints of their loveliness 
within a few hundred yards of our doors ; and when the 
opium harvest came, dozens of children would stroll 
about sucking the last juices from the wilted heads of the 
" withering flower of dreams " they had been helping to 
garner. 

In accordance with the Imperial Edict which had 
hitherto been a dead letter, the Governor-General now 
issued his commands. Poppy cultivation was to cease. 
Opium dens all over the country, which had been in- 
creasing in number and prosperity, were given six months 
to close their doors. Opium smokers over sixty years of 
age might receive an official permit, but all others must 
give up its use within a given time or suffer punish- 
ment. 

These laws were carried out. One by one opium dens 
ceased from our midst. Gangs of men could be seen 



RECONSTRUCTION 1 99 

mending the city roads under a guard — these were con- 
victed opium smokers whose punishment was this open- 
air exercise instead of lazy confinement in a close prison. 
When summer came, not a poppy field was to be seen or 
heard of. Owing to this vigorous action, Manchuria was 
one of the first provinces closed to Indian opium. 

Only once, a year or two later, did an opium poppy 
appear again among us. A farmer just outside the wall 
ventured to assume that as Chao Er Sun was no longer 
here, he might safely make some money. As the weeks 
went on, we sadly saw the poppies grow, till they bloomed 
in the hundred shades of their fatal beauty. Then just 
as the field was ripe for harvest, there came one morning 
a band of ruthless soldiers, who cut down and destroyed 
every bloom, while the farmer wrung his hands in vain. 

Opium has gone, but unfortunately an illicit traffic in 
morphia has come, most of it from Japan. Tabloids and 
hypodermic syringes are sold openly, and pedlars go 
about the country charging a couple of cents for an 
injection. Patients frequently present themselves at our 
hospital with large patches of diseased tissue dotted with 
the marks of dirty hypodermic needles. The Chinese 
Government is awake to the new danger, and it is ex- 
pected that international action will soon be taken to 
stamp out this evil traffic. 

Education also received the new Governor-General's 
earnest care. Till now there had been no such thing as a 
Government school. Teaching was carried on privately, 
and was in the hands of old-fashioned schoolmasters, each 
having under him from a dozen to a score of boys, in his 
own house, a rented room, or the home of one of the 
pupils. In well-to-do households a teacher was engaged 
for the family, girls being sometimes taught along with 
boys. The instruction consisted of reading, writing, and 
memorizing the old classics, and, for advanced pupils, 
explaining these classics and writing formal essays on 
Confucian themes. The Empress-Dowager had issued 



200 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

what was in effect a repetition of some of the Emperor's 
unfortunate Reform Edicts of some years before. The 
old-fashioned Confucian examinations for degrees were 
to be superseded, and modern subjects introduced. To 
this end Government schools were to be established. 

The time was ripe and more than ripe for such a change. 
Everywhere there was a keen desire for modern education, 
and a demand for instruction in the sciences and the 
English language. Manchuria had not been one of the 
best educated provinces. The large bulk of her immi- 
grants were of the illiterate classes, and only a small 
proportion of the rural population could read. In the 
cities and towns the educated were more numerous. Our 
Christian Church had always emphasized the importance 
of its children learning to read, and had many village 
schools with old-fashioned schoolmasters. In a good 
many of the centres where missionaries lived, there were 
also Middle Schools of a more advanced kind, where 
modern subjects were taught. Girls' schools had early 
been opened, and had steadily developed and increased 
in number. The only institution in Manchuria of colle- 
giate rank was the Christian Arts College, but its work, 
and that of all the schools, had been seriously hindered by 
the war. Manchuria more than any other province had 
been brought into close contact with foreign nations, 
and forced to realize the practical necessity for know- 
ledge. But for this third war within her borders, she 
would have started her educational career immediately 
on the publication of the new Edict. Our energetic 
Governor-General now acted promptly. 

Several large boys' schools and one for girls were 
opened, professing all the modern subjects, tuition, books, 
and stationery being free. As few trained teachers were 
available, the teaching was at first of the most super- 
ficial kind. A Confucian schoolmaster would buy an 
arithmetic, a geography, a history of China, a science 
primer, devote a couple of months to their study, and get 



RECONSTRUCTION 201 

an appointment to teach them. Much of the instruction 
was useless, but the best had to be made of the materials 
available, and year by year things improved. 

The securing of teachers for girls' schools presented 
special difficulties, as it was decreed that they must be 
women, and where were sufficient of these to be found ? 
The first school was opened as a normal and elementary 
one, a large salary was promised to all who passed 
through the two years' free training, and an entrance 
examination was held of a very elementary nature. 
Tempted by the golden inducements, a good many 
Christian girls and young women applied, and they easily 
came out at the head of the list. The Moukden Christian 
Girls' School was thus deprived of most of its advanced 
pupils, but at the same time it became known that in it 
was to be had the real thing in modern education. 
Although fees are charged, and neither food nor books 
given free, it has always had more applying for entrance 
than could be admitted, non-Christians as well as Chris- 
tians, and its numbers have risen to 160. To this day a 
large proportion of Government girls' school teachers are 
Christians. 

With female education came a marked change in 
certain social customs. It had hitherto been considered 
improper for girls over ten or young women of good 
character to appear on the streets without an elder 
woman. Now they had to go daily to school. So all 
schoolgirls were provided with badges which they wore 
conspicuously and which protected them from insults. 
Gradually since then even this has become superfluous. 

Soon after Chao Er Sun came to Moukden a Chinese 
daily paper was started, and later on another, and before 
long they had a large circulation. 

Along with modern methods in education, material 
reforms were introduced. These were most in evidence in 
Moukden itself. The streets had been hopeless quagmires 
in wet weather and whirling dust in dry. The Russians 



202 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

had improved matters by forcing each merchant or 
householder on the main streets to level and mend in 
front of his own door, but now macadamized roads were 
made, steam-rollers and water-carts came into use. With 
change of roads came change of vehicles. Rickshas 
appeared in hundreds, the Russian drosky became 
common, and officials drove in foreign broughams. 

Having had some years of contact with Russia, Mouk- 
den no longer went to bed with the sun. The formerly 
dark and deserted streets were now trodden in the evening 
by wayfarers, lantern in hand. This fugitive light being 
manifestly insufficient, street lamps had been placed at all 
Government offices and public buildings, and now it was 
ordained that householders should maintain lamps outside 
their own doors. A few years later electric light was 
provided by Government on all the main streets. 

The need for police in the city was now beginning to be 
felt ; the war had brought about many changes for good 
and evil, and the old simple ways were passing. So a 
strong force of semi-military police was organized, and 
little blue sentry-boxes appeared at street corners. Night 
and day these guardians of the public peace watched over 
the city, and before long were even stationed on the 
thoroughfares to control the traffic. A Board of Sanita- 
tion was also formed, very imperfect, but a beginning 
in the right direction, and for the first time in the history 
of Moukden laws were issued regarding sanitary matters. 

So much was the need felt for increased medical help, 
that the Governor-General consulted me as to the opening 
of a Government Hospital and Dispensary. A compound 
in the north of the city was arranged for the purpose, and 
put in charge of two Chinese graduates of the Government 
Medical School in Tientsin. They became very friendly 
with us, and there has been ever since the most cordial 
intercourse between the two hospitals. 

All these changes naturally meant expenditure, and it 
says much for Chao's financial ability, that he carried out 



RECONSTRUCTION 203 

his plans by means of economy, retrenchment, and 
reorganization rather than increase of taxation, and that 
he left a large balance in the Treasury when he was 
transferred to another province. 

Our personal intercourse with His Excellency Chao Er 
Sun was throughout of the most pleasant kind. Soon 
after his arrival I called on him, and found to my surprise 
that he knew all about us and was quite familiar with the 
part we had played in the recent relief work. He inquired 
with great interest about our hospital, and from then on 
was our very good friend. He came frequently to see me, 
sometimes in quite an informal way. 

The hospital was at that time in temporary and most 
inconvenient quarters in the tumbledown old San Yi 
Miao, the temple on our Small River bank. Its accom- 
modation was ridiculously inadequate. Many of the 
patients had to wait in the open air. There was only 
one room for both consulting and dispensing, and the 
dispensers had hardly space to make up the medicines. 
Among the dilapidated idols which were partly screened 
off, the in-patients were uncomfortably housed, and in 
summer some were sheltered in a tent in the compound. 
The buildings were old, draughty, and insanitary, with 
damp floors and leaky hangs which smoked continually. 
In this hospital, such as it was, we were able to treat 
larger numbers than since the Boxer troubles. 

The war had prevented our rebuilding, but in the spring 
of 1906 we were at last able to go forward. Colonel 
MacPherson, of the Royal Army Medical Corps, one of the 
British attaches with General Oku's army, and an expert 
in hospital construction, had guided us in laying out the 
ground, and we were now able to feel almost thankful 
that the Boxers had made such a clean sweep of the old 
patched buildings. Our great difficulty was money. 
Materials were several times their former cost, and wages 
had risen, so that the indemnity for the old hospital would 
not go more than half-way to building the new. We 



204 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

decided, however, to keep to our plan, and build as many 
wards as we had money for. Marshal Oyama, in recog- 
nition of our help to his wounded, had given orders that 
all wood for the building was to be conveyed by rail from 
Newchwang free of charge. This meant a great deal to 
us, for no seasoned native wood could be had at that 
time, and the American pine which we bought would 
have cost several hundred pounds to bring up-country, 
if, indeed, the Japanese railway would have undertaken 
its transport. 

Some weeks before building began I was calling on the 
Governor-General, and he inquired minutely about the 
new hospital and how much money we lacked for the 
building. 

" Leave it to me ! " he said. " That will be managed 
all right." 

Three weeks later he called and handed me Tls.4000, 
or about £600. With this we built a ward which bears his 
name. Other friends also came to our help. One carted 
all the bricks and tiles without charge, equal to a donation 
of £80. The director of the Imperial Chinese Railway 
ordered that our Portland cement and floor-tiles be 
conveyed free from Tong-shan to Hsin-min-tun. And 
there were many smaller contributions. 

In the spring of 1907 the hospital was ready for use. 
It consisted of a two-story dispensary block, with 
accommodation for assistants and dispensers upstairs ; 
a bright, airy, modern operating-room ; three wards 
with accommodation for sixty patients ; and outhouses. 
To complete the plan two more large wings were necessary, 
and some other buildings, but for these we had so far no 
funds. 

Our good Governor-General agreed to perform the 
opening ceremony on 5 March, and for three days there 
was high festival on the Small River bank. The day 
before the opening, one cart after another arrived with 
gifts, bright silk scrolls and banners, a beautiful silk flag 



RECONSTRUCTION 205 

with the Imperial dragon, a new Red Cross flag, lanterns, 
lamps, clocks, etc. Many of these were from the Chris- 
tians. On the important day all was gay with flags and 
streamers, the Chinese dragon having the place of honour 
at the top of our tall flagstaff, above the Red Cross. 
Besides the Governor-General, the Consuls and all the 
leading officials in Moukden came, to the number of 
about 120, the most picturesque among them being the 
two Great Lamas, head of all the Lamas in Manchuria. 
Tables were spread in the large new waiting-room, and 
after seeing over the premises there were refreshments 
and speeches. We took care not to refer to the Boxer 
destruction, but the Governor-General himself alluded 
regretfully to the grief and loss we had suffered, for which, 
he said, " China is ashamed to-day." Before performing 
the ceremony he had presented me with an additional 
$1000 (£100) towards the building fund, and in concluding 
his speech he appealed to the wealthy men of Moukden 
to come forward and make up the necessary amount. 

" It is my wish," he said, " that this beneficent institu- 
tion be finished before the end of the year," and his wish 
was gratified. 

The next day there was a solemn dedicatory service 
attended by several hundred Christians ; refreshments 
were supplied, and they all saw over the premises. On 
the third day we had about 150 of the leading merchants 
in Moukden, with the President of the Merchants' 
Guild at their head, and during their repast one after 
another expressed a desire that whatever was lacking 
for the building should be made up. The fete days were 
concluded by an exhibition of fireworks, provided by the 
merchants, on the river bank in front of the hospital, 
viewed by a dense crowd on both sides of the river, 
numbering from forty to fifty thousand men, women, 
and children. The thoughts of many went back to the 
last great gathering there seven years before, when the 
hospital buildings went up in flames. This was a very 



206 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

different crowd, peaceful and good-natured, needing not 
a single policeman to keep them in order. 

The following day the Chairman of the Merchant Guild 
called on me and said : "I am authorized to tell you that 
you are to go on with your building, and to come to me 
for money as you need it." During the summer I again 
and again proved the sincerity of this promise. Whatever 
I asked was given, and by November the whole hospital 
was complete, providing accommodation for 110 patients. 

The old temple, the San Yi Miao, which the hospital 
had temporarily occupied, had been bought by Govern- 
ment some time before we left it, but we were allowed to 
remain in it rent free till our new building was ready. 
A few days after our opening ceremony, workmen 
arrived to pull down and to build up, in order to fit the 
place and some adjoining open ground for a Government 
Industrial School. They were immediately faced with the 
difficulty : What was to be done with the idols ? All the 
other Buddhist temples in Moukden were invited to 
accept these homeless gods, but only one was considered 
worth removing. The rest were, amid laughter and 
mockery, carried out to the narrow terrace before the 
temple and left for some days exposed to the elements. 
Even there they were in the way of the workmen, and 
one day a man seized a huge broken limb and threw it 
over the edge of the terrace towards the water. A shout 
of laughter went up, a crowd soon gathered, and with 
much merriment and jeering the old gods were one after 
another smashed, and heaved piecemeal into the river. 



XXII 

SPIRITUAL UPLIFT 

" We cannot kindle when we will 

The fire that in the heart resides. 
The spirit bloweth and is still, 
In mystery the soul abides. 
But tasks in hours of insight willed 
Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.' 1 

B. W. Emerson. 

A CHRISTIAN community which had been subjected 
to such a series of devastating wars and searching 
persecutions as had the Manchurian Church, might 
reasonably be expected to settle down thereafter to quiet 
development and rest, and for some time this was so. 
The Boxer bitterness died out, the refugee aid work 
going far to obliterate in the public mind the line between 
Church members and outsiders. Churches and meeting- 
houses dotted the land anew. Two Moukden churches were 
built, not in Chinese style this time, for foreign buildings 
were now the aim of all. When the church for the older 
congregation in East Moukden was opened in 1907, it was 
crowded to the door, and next day there was a sym- 
pathetic gathering of officials, merchants, and others, to 
express the goodwill of the non-Christian public to the 
Christian Church. Numbers were again on the increase, 
slowly but steadily. Those who had been suspended for 
recanting in one form or another had been gradually 
readmitted. There was specially rapid development in 
education, the standard aimed at being markedly higher. 
Below this outward smooth prosperity there slowly 
rose in the heart of the Church an undercurrent of dis~ 

207 



208 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

satisfaction, a wholesome though as yet unrecognized 
discontent with herself. The Chinese are not given to 
self -analysis, and the standards of the ordinary Christian 
are of the simplest. A man either believes and is a 
Christian, or does not believe and is not. Into this child- 
like involuntary division of the world into two classes 
had broken the Boxer summer with its many varieties 
and degrees of apostasy. It was sometimes the best man, 
the most truly spiritual-minded and upright, who had 
failed to stand in the evil day ; while the easy-going and 
shallow, from force of circumstances or occasionally from 
pure physical pluck, had come out of it unscathed. An 
undefinable consciousness stirred in the minds of many 
that there were questions they had never thought of, 
heights and depths in the Faith hitherto undreamed of. 
A change in the mental view-point of the Manchurian 
Christian was inevitable in this time of political and 
social change, even apart from all inward stirrings. The 
change seemed for a time not unlikely to take the form of 
an aggressive propaganda to extend the borders of the 
Church, while more or less relegating to the background 
that need felt so keenly by the missionaries and by a 
growing number of individual Christians — the need of 
intensifying the personal Christian life of the Church. At 
the annual meetings of Synod, especially that in 1907, 
there was a great enthusiasm for pressing forward. A 
Missionary Society was formed ; the unevangelized 
northern province of Tsi-tsi-har or Hei-lung-Kiang was 
chosen as the first field for its operations ; two men from 
the Theological Hall were ordained as missionaries, and, 
supported by their compatriots, were sent forth to break 
new ground. A small Christian Church is now growing 
there, which has never had anything to do with foreign 
missionaries or foreign money. In the older districts one 
pastor after another was ordained over self-supporting 
congregations, and the spirit of self-assertion and inde- 
pendence was most encouraging. 



SPIRITUAL UPLIFT 209 

At the same time there was a general consciousness that 
for the Christians themselves something was needed, and 
this took form in special meetings for the building up of 
believers, which were held in most churches for a week 
early in each Chinese year, when business was slack. 
These were well attended. Into these regularly organized 
quiet meetings in Liaoyang and Moukden in 1908 came 
a new element, which caused that mighty stirring known 
as the Manchurian Revival. The detailed story of that 
wonderful movement has already been written, 1 and 
would be out of place here. Humanly speaking, it was 
a sequel to the Korean Revival. Stories of the evangelistic 
fervour of the roused disciples in that downtrodden land 
had been sounding strangely in our ears for months past, 
and a Canadian missionary, the Rev. Jonathan Goforth, 
after visiting Korea, had been asked to tell of what he 
had seen to the special meetings in both Moukden and 
Liaoyang. All were interested in the subject, and it was 
hoped that the churches might be roused to greater zeal ; 
but any general movement such as took place was far 
from the thoughts of any. One evident reason for the 
story coming home with special force to the Manchurian 
Christians was that the Korean had always been looked 
down upon with marked contempt, as of an inferior race. 

" The Koreans have gone forward like this, why is it 
that we are left behind ? " was the question which struck 
home to many a conscience. 

Such, then, were the various streams of influence 
converging on the minds of the Christians at the time 
of these meetings, but they are far from sufficient to 
explain the wave of intense spiritual impulse which 
moved the Manchurian Church to its very foundations 
from south to north and from east to west. The only 
adequate explanation is that " Here is the finger of 
God, a flash of the will that can." The Church was in 
serious danger of becoming a somewhat worldly institu- 

1 " Times of Blessing in Manchuria," by the Rev, James Webster. 



210 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

tion, seeking for mere increase of numbers, prosperity, 
education. Here she was arrested as by a lightning flash, 
which revealed her complacent corruption, and by con- 
trast the high calling to which she was called. 

The Chinese sense of sinfulness has always been dull. 
There is no real translation for sin. The same word is 
used in such phrases as " a criminal" " I am to blame" 
" He has offended me." As words both reflect and 
suggest thoughts, the ideas of the ordinary Christian 
regarding sin were as loose as his phraseology, and he 
was slow to grow into the realization of the vital im- 
portance of an upright personal character. Yet the most 
prominent feature in all this movement was the confession 
of personal individual sins. 

It is easy for a large meeting to be moved by an eloquent 
address and carried away by sympathetic emotion, till 
many weep for their " sins." This was not what hap- 
pened. It is a different thing when a man of established 
respectability stands up before a company of his own 
friends and acquaintances, owns that he has swindled, 
and proceeds to pay back the money ; when a prominent 
church leader convicts himself of secret immorality ; 
when a man who has borne the reputation of having 
stood firm at the Boxer trial, comes forward voluntarily 
to confess with distress that he had really saved his life 
by worshipping idols ; when another who had been 
tortured in vain in the yamen to make him acknowledge 
his guiltiness of a certain crime, now pours out the 
confession with cries and tears. Perhaps even more 
convincing were the quiet sorrowful confessions in prayer 
of minor sins which had heretofore been regarded as 
unimportant ; such as lying, petty dishonesty, anger, 
refusal to forgive an injury. The outburst of thank- 
offerings all over the country, filling the church treasury 
to overflowing, was also very striking, though more 
transient. 

In all this there was inevitably a certain amount of 



SPIRITUAL UPLIFT 211 

unconscious imitation and hysterical excitement, for a 
nervously susceptible people like the Chinese are pecu- 
liarly open to such influences. Besides, the great majority 
of them had but recently emerged from heathenism with 
its ignorance and superstitions. In looking back over 
the five years that have elapsed since then, we see, as we 
might expect, that where the excitement, the extreme 
experiences, the physical " manifestations " (such as 
cataleptic fits) were most common, there the spiritual 
and practical results were least permanent. It is also 
noticeable that it has usually been the Christians of some 
years' standing who have profited most deeply by this 
new experience. 

With every possible discount for all extraneous im- 
pulses, the number of Christians must still have been 
very large, who from the depths of their hearts confessed 
and turned from sins hitherto concealed or thought 
lightly of, and whose eyes were opened to new possibilities 
of communion with God. Were there no other result, 
those months burned into the consciousness of the 
Church the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and raised the 
standard of upright Christian living once for all to a higher 
level. 

Among the thousands who thus caught a glimpse of an 
unforgettable ideal, and realized their own distance from 
it, were some — scores or hundreds, we know not — to 
whom the heavenly vision meant a complete revolution 
in their Christian life. We judge not by their words but 
by their continued life and actions. The vision passes, 
the life goes on. 

There was in Moukden one of my trained assistants, 
the son of Pastor Liu, who since the Boxer year has been 
in practice for himself. He was a good Christian, a good 
son, a good husband, a good father. To him the new 
light came with illuminating force, transforming his whole 
existence. While others saw in him little need for 
repentance, he realized his shortcomings before a higher 



212 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

tribunal. The first result was a public confession, the 
next the dedication to God's service of one-tenth of the 
capital he had amassed. He had in all $7000 (about 
£600) invested in his medicine shop, and $700 was paid 
down as subscriptions to hospitals, schools, Bible Society, 
Missionary Society, and congregational funds. He then 
set himself to consider how best he could serve God, and 
decided to remain in self-supporting practice, while 
giving part of his time to voluntary medical missionary 
work. Since then he has made a number of medico - 
evangelistic tours, healing and preaching in the villages. 
Often has he been asked : " How much do the foreigners 
pay you for this ? " and the discovery that he was 
travelling and working at his own expense and at his 
own initiative made a marked impression. In Moukden 
his presence and influence are of permanent value. 

In Moukden the lasting results of that time have been 
specially prominent among the women. The uplift of 
Christian womanhood among us has been a gradual thing, 
but in looking back we realize how far we have come and 
what an upward impulse was given by that " Revival 
time." The ordinary Chinese woman of the early days 
was illiterate, ignorant, often stupid, bound by custom, 
without inclination to learn anything. In the country 
it required almost bribery to get a young woman to 
attempt to learn to read. Even in the cities, for years 
it was taken for granted that none but former schoolgirls 
could use the hymn-book and Testament. All this is 
changed. In Moukden to-day the women are as promi- 
nent in the church as the men, though still fewer in 
number. Most of them have their books at service and 
use them, for a certain knowledge of reading is made a 
condition of baptism, except for the aged. They elect 
their own deaconesses, who take round the collection- 
plates to them on Sunday, receive and keep accounts of 
women's subscriptions, arrange women's meetings, and 
manage all their affairs. 



SPIRITUAL UPLIFT 213 

The energy and zeal of these women was manifested 
recently when it was proposed to make a new departure 
and open a tent for Christian preaching in the women's 
part of an annual temple fair. Under the direction of a 
lady missionary a band of women was organized, and 
preaching was continued by about a dozen of them in 
turn from six in the morning until dusk for six consecutive 
days. This was repeated at two subsequent fairs. The 
temple authorities were most cordial, in one case giving 
the use of a building free, and in the others charging no 
ground-rent for the booth. They regarded the women's 
preaching as a " meritorious action " on their part, and 
possibly as a fresh attraction to the fair. Crowds of 
women listened, and the words of these simple Christians, 
most of whom had spent their youth in heathenism and 
illiteracy, were evidently acceptable. 

The development of this independent Christian activity 
and sense of responsibility among women has been very 
gradual, and the general standard of intelligence has still 
a long way to rise. Chinese women, in Manchuria at 
least, have never been, properly speaking, " down- 
trodden." They have to bear the yoke in their youth in 
serving their mothers-in-law, they are legally in complete 
subjection to their husbands all their lives, and for very 
many this is a practical as well as a legal actuality. But 
wherever a strong woman of character is found, and they 
are not few, she will as years go on inevitably assert her 
individuality and find her kingdom, be she never so 
ignorant and uneducated. In hundreds of homes the 
manager and leading spirit is a middle-aged or elderly 
woman, to whom all the men of the household defer as 
having the best judgment among them. When such 
clever, capable minds are educated in girlhood in our 
schools, or trained in middle life in a Bible Woman's 
Training Home, they become an irresistible force in the 
forward march of Christianity. 

Girls' schools have been and are a most important 



214 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

factor in the development of a wholesome Christian home 
life, as from them issue streams of girls to be the mothers 
and heads of the Christian families of the future. Govern- 
ment schools cannot take their place. In the Christian 
atmosphere, especially where the foreign lady throws her 
personality into the work, character is built up ; whereas 
in the Government schools there is usually a lack of 
definite principles, a laxity of discipline, an absence of 
high ideals. The same is true of boys' schools. There 
is a great future before the educated and trained women 
of China. In the capable young women dispensers and 
school teachers we have glimpses of what the future holds. 
They and the Bible women, so keen to learn and make 
up for the blankness of their youthful years, so eagerly 
glad over any new insight into hidden knowledge, make 
us certain that when New China enters fully into her 
inheritance, her women will be in the forefront of the 
highest and truest progress. 

The general education of the Christian youth of both 
sexes has continued to advance during recent years. A 
Girls' Normal School has been begun in Moukden, and 
seems likely to furnish teachers not only to Christian 
girls' schools, but to many a Government school also. 
The Christian Arts College (for men only) entered on a 
new era of its usefulness when it was established in a 
new building at the west of the city in 1910, the Viceroy 
Hsi Liang and other officials cordially assisting at the 
opening ceremony. One of the most encouraging features 
of this institution is that most of its graduates seem 
determined to devote themselves to the Christian advance- 
ment of their country rather than to their own personal 
enrichment. 

The character of the Theological Hall seems for this 
reason on the verge of change. Hitherto our pastors, 
now sixteen in number, have been men who have spent 
years as evangelists, who have had little or no " modern " 
education, and who have passed through the theological 



SPIRITUAL UPLIFT 215 

training when no longer in their youth. A new type of 
pastor is now needed and will soon be provided, men 
who have been through our schools and colleges, and who, 
after a time of practical work among the people, return 
for a scholastic training of a very different type from that 
which the former theological student could assimilate. 
Thus we have good hope that the Chinese Church will 
have men well equipped to lead the thought of the China 
that is to be. 



XXIII 

THE PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL MISSION WORK 

"Go, and do thou likewise." 

The Parable of the Good Samaritan. 

IN 1907 there was held in Shanghai the " China Cen- 
tenary Missionary Conference," a hundred years after 
the arrival of the first Protestant missionary in China. 
I was asked to be Chairman of the Committee on Medical 
Missions, and to prepare a paper on the subject. Part of 
this is given here, as it expresses my strong convictions 
as to the place Medical Missions should occupy in the 
world- work of the Christian Church. The principles here 
laid down were unanimously adopted by the Conference 
in the Resolutions passed. 

" From the very beginning of Medical Missions, this 
form of work has been notably blessed of God. Its 
success as a pioneer agency has been very marked, and 
healing the sick has everywhere been found the best 
way of overcoming suspicion, dislike, and opposition, 
breaking down prejudice, and removing misconcep- 
tions. Especially in Mohammedan lands, practically 
no advance has been made except in conjunction with 
medical work. And among all peoples and in all parts 
of the world, it opens the way for the preaching of the 
Gospel. In China it has been more difficult to gain an 
entrance than in most lands, for between our mis- 
sionary agencies and the life of the people there is a 
great wall of anti-foreign prejudice. It is now about 
seventy years since the missionary societies began to 
realize that to win the hearts of such a proud and 
hostile people, something more than preaching and 

216 



PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL MISSION WORK 217 

literary work would be needed ; and that the wall on 
which the force of arms and the influences of Western 
civilization could make no impression would best be 
broken down by those acts of kindness and love which 
lie at the heart of the Gospel. Medical Missions were 
no sooner established in the principal ports by Drs. 
Parker, Lockhart, Hobson, and others, than crowds 
nocked to be healed. And ever since they have been 
recognized as the best way to begin work in a new or 
hostile district. 

" The unique advantages of this method of pioneering 
are so obvious and have been so notably exemplified, 
that this side of the work has perhaps gained undue 
prominence. It has been concluded by many that this 
is the raison d'etre of Medical Missions, — to open new 
ground, and provide audiences for the Gospel. The 
logical conclusion of this view is, that they should 
only exist when there is a measure of difficulty in 
gaining a hearing for the Gospel in other ways, when 
there is active hostility, proud aloofness, or dead in- 
difference. Once these are overcome, and there is a 
general openness of welcome, and large numbers are 
ready to listen to the preaching of the Word, the 
medical missionary might reasonably withdraw, and 
press forward once more to virgin soil. If he still 
remains, it is often assumed that the most important 
part of his work is now over. 

"As an evangelistic agency Medical Missions have 
been so fruitful, that this alone would be sufficient 
reason for their establishment, and for their continu- 
ance. Nowhere can such miscellaneous crowds be 
regularly preached to as in the dispensary waiting- 
rooms, and many are reached who could never hear 
the Gospel in any other way. Those who are admitted 
to the hospital have unique opportunities of hearing 
and receiving systematic instruction in Christian truth, 
and that at a time when many are moved by the un- 
certainty of life, when their hearts are softened by the 
unwonted kindness shown them, and when they have 
leisure and rest from their accustomed labours. 



218 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

" The hospital and dispensary are valued also as 
giving an object lesson in Christian love and mercy. 
They are a practical exemplification of the parable of 
the Good Samaritan. They convince the heathen that 
Christians do good deeds and have kind hearts ; and 
they are a constant reminder to the native Christians 
of our obligation to love our neighbour. There is 
special need for this in China, where the whole system 
of law and literature encourages each man to consider 
himself, and to look with indifference on the sufferings 
of others. The Chinese are a very practical people, 
and they are quick to perceive and appreciate the 
practical side of Christianity. ' It must be a good 
doctrine,' they often say, ' that produces such good 
deeds.' 

" It concerns the Church vitally, to find out if this 
view of medical work as a threefold aid to missions 
is an adequate one, or if we are warranted, from the 
revelations of God in Scripture and history, in placing 
it on a higher plane. Our entire policy and methods 
will be influenced by the view we take of its essential 
standing in the whole scheme of Christianizing the 
world. 

" Let us look at the life of our Master. It is evident 
that, during the three and a half years of His public 
ministry, He spent at least as much time in healing 
the crowds as in preaching to them. He seems to have 
turned none away, and expended time and strength 
freely in dealing individually with each case of bodily 
need. This was not done to combat hostility ; indeed 
many of His miracles were the cause of hostility. It 
was not done to attract audiences ; Christ's preaching 
seems to have been always enough to draw a crowd, 
and several were forbidden to make their healing known 
in order to avoid the pressure of numbers. It was not 
done to prove Messiahship ; indeed Christ definitely 
refused to work any miracle to this end. Neither is 
there any sign that His object ever was to produce 
faith either in the one healed or in the onlookers, 
though this was the natural result of His works. Nor 



PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL MISSION WORK 219 

were the acts of healing done from didactic reasons. 
Each miracle contains the germ of a parable, and may 
well be used as such, but that is not why they were 
worked. And certainly they were not done casually, 
by the way, as a side thing, which might be done or 
not without materially affecting Christ's life. It would 
be a very different Gospel, were the works of healing 
left out. What then were these works of healing ? 
And why did Christ spend so much of His short earthly 
life in the relief of mere physical distress, which, in the 
nature of things, must before long be ended by death ? 
" Christ came as the Revelation of the Father, the 
Word of God to man ; and it is evident that a very 
vital and important part of that revelation concerned 
men's bodies. From the very beginning, God in His 
dealing with men had regard for their temporal well- 
being. In the earliest times His promises and com- 
mands were primarily for this world, — those to Abra- 
ham for instance, — and the very existence of a soul 
and a life to come is implied only, but never stated. 
The Mosaic law, in many particulars, was dictated by 
considerations of public health and sanitation, and it 
concerned itself minutely with personal details of the 
bodily welfare of the private individual. Along with the 
most highly spiritual passages in the prophetic writings, 
are promises of temporal blessings, and warnings of 
earthly disasters, and the redemption of the body is 
part of the hope of the Messianic kingdom. For when 
sin entered into the world, the whole man suffered, 
physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and the 
message of God Incarnate is to the whole man, mercy 
for the body as well as for the soul. So when Christ 
came, He was not wholly concerned with spiritual 
matters, men's souls and salvation, leaving their bodies 
to suffer, and die as soon as might be. He spent Him- 
self on their bodies. He was careful, not so much to 
preach to men of what God is, as to live the Divine 
Life before them, showing them by deeds what God's 
heart is. Whenever Christ met with sin and suffering, 
He put forth against them all His power, and by so 



220 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

doing He revealed God. In His answer to John He 
appeals to His deeds of mercy, side by side with or even 
before His preaching, as a manifestation of His spiritual 
identity. It seems as if He could not restrain the love 
and compassion of God within Him, which welled up 
and flowed forth spontaneously in acts of healing of 
the body. 

" Now the principal function of the Christian Church 
on earth is admittedly to act as the channel of the 
revelation of God to man. And the revelation which 
v/e make known must be entire. We must bring to 
men all that Christ brought, we must show to them the 
same God that He showed. If He, who spake as never 
man spake, found deeds necessary as well as words, 
in order to manifest His Father, we cannot expect 
adequately to make God known to the heathen by 
preaching alone, even where crowds are willing to 
listen. If He, who is the express image of the person 
of that God who is a Spirit, yet addressed Himself to 
save men's bodies as well as their souls, we also must 
inevitably concern ourselves with the whole man, and 
relieve bodily suffering while leading souls into light. 
Only so can we be as He was in this world, only so can 
we offer to men the whole Gospel. 

" In this light, Medical Mission work is seen to be no 
mere adjunct to the work of preaching, but an essential 
and integral part of the Mission of the Church. Can 
we imagine Christ ignoring the suffering around Him, 
while directing Himself to put away the sin ? As 
unnatural and one-sided are Christian missions without 
healing. Miraculous gifts are indeed no longer ours, 
but in their place we have all the resources of modern 
science, which are equally the gift of God. As the 
years advance, the discoveries and inventions of 
medicine and surgery reveal more and more of the 
wonderful provision for healing, which God has made. 
All these are ours to use in His name and for His glory, 
and they manifest His power and mercy scarcely less 
than did the miraculous healing of old. 

" The Church of modern days has been marvellously 



PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL MISSION WORK 221 

slow to recognize the fullness of her high calling. 
Among the primitive Christians, bodily and spiritual 
healing were intimately associated, and everyone was 
expected to do his best to alleviate the sufferings of 
those around him. No line seems to have been drawn 
between miraculous powers and the natural ministra- 
tions of loving gentle hands and prayerful hearts. 
In medieval times the principle that the Church should 
care for both body and soul, seems to have been dimly 
grasped and instinctively acted upon, without any 
theorizing on the subject. When the missionaries of 
the undivided Church went forth to heathen lands, 
they healed the sick and preached the Gospel. 

" But with the Renaissance and the Reformation, 
medical science in large measure parted company with 
the Church. When the great Protestant missionary 
movement began, it was directed wholly in the line of 
preaching, teaching, and translating the Bible. It was 
assumed that the whole message of God to man could 
be conveyed in that way ; and even to those earnest 
and rare souls among the missionaries of that time, 
who stand out as examples to all ages of devotion and 
sacrifice, it does not seem to have occurred, that a 
more complete Gospel would have more power in 
winning the souls they were hungering for. In very 
many cases, individual missionaries have done their 
best for the suffering ones around them, feeling that 
they could not do less, and still represent their Master. 
Dr. Morrison, first Protestant missionary to China, 
though not a medical man, opened and for some years 
superintended a dispensary, with the help of a friendly 
surgeon, and there have been many instances of Chris- 
tian doctors freely giving their services to help on 
missionary work. Still, it is not until comparatively 
recently that the Church has realized her great power 
lying unused, and has called upon her sons and 
daughters to go forth to heal as well as to preach. 

" In Christian work as in other fields of labour, we 
are not likely to reach beyond our aim. The aim of 
the Church hitherto, in sending healing to the heathen, 



222 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

has been too much limited to the three points, — 
Pioneering, Evangelistic work, and Philanthropy. The 
success of any particular work, apart from its pioneer 
aspect, has been too largely estimated according to 
the number whom it attracted into the Church. But 
let us now aim higher. Let us consider the place which 
deeds had in our Master's life-work, and the place they 
should therefore have in the life-work of the Church. 
Let us realize that by healing a man we are letting in 
a ray of Divine Light on the darkness of his surround- 
ings, even if he takes absolutely no interest in the 
Divine message. Let us seek to let the heathen and 
hostile world read more plainly in our Christianity, 
the same Gospel as it finds in the Gospels. Let the 
whole work of Medical Missions be lifted to this higher 
plane, as a necessary and fundamental part of missions, 
not a mere aid to them. Let this be our practical aim, 
and so shall we hasten the time we are all longing for, 
when the whole world shall stretch out its hands to 
God." 

Medical Missions being thus regarded as an integral and 
permanent part of the mission of the Christian Church, 
it is evident that that Church must do her best to ensure 
not only the establishment but also the continuity of such 
work. Our own presence here is not for always ; the 
propagation of Christianity by means of foreigners can be 
but a temporary expedient ; China must be Christianized 
and educated ultimately by her own sons ; so that the 
way to perpetuate our work is evidently to train those 
who in their turn will carry on what we are beginning. 
It is not enough to give a smattering of practical know- 
ledge to a succession of dispensers and assistants. We 
need well-educated Chinese Christians who can adequately 
and worthily stand forward as fully equipped medical 
men. 

This has been increasingly realized during the past six 
years, and one medical college after another has sprung 
up in various parts of China. There have always been 



PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL MISSION WORK 223 

some who have opposed the movement, believing that 
this is not the legitimate work of Christian Missions, but 
should be left to the Government Or people. This, how- 
ever, would inevitably result in the development in 
China of a medical profession apart from Christianity, 
and in the ultimate cessation of Medical Missions. We 
are responsible for making provision that this shall not 
be. We must see to it that Chinese Christianity shall 
be in a position to continue to proclaim her message to 
the whole man, body and soul. The conviction is growing 
that in Christian medical education lies the important 
part of our Medical Mission work for the next few decades, 
and it is agreed that such education must be of the 
highest standard. 

The responsibility of the Government of the country 
for providing for medical education is also acknowledged, 
and the Chinese Government and the Board of Education 
are awake to the necessity, especially in connection with 
the public services. Government medical colleges 
already exist, and there is a strong movement to establish 
training on a much higher standard. 

The question naturally arises : How can these two 
responsibilities be brought into harmony ? Some colleges 
have already been established on a purely foreign and 
missionary basis, but the desirability of co-operation 
with the Chinese is more and more strongly felt, and the 
necessity for Government recognition of medical diplomas 
is realized. We are laying the foundations of what will 
one day be purely Chinese work, and we want as close 
union with them as possible. If the Christian ideal of 
service is to permeate the ranks of the Chinese medical 
profession, there must from the outset be co-operation 
and friendly relationship between the various medical 
schools, and also between the Government and those 
who are responsible for conducting them. 

At the triennial meeting of the China Medical Missionary 
Association held in Peking in January, 1913, this whole 



224 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

subject of medical education was discussed, and a definite 
line of policy was adopted. It was decided that the 
urgency of Christian medical education is such that it 
should take precedence of advance in any other branch 
of Medical Missionary work. The following resolution 
was passed, and was published in Chinese : 

" Resolved : That the Medical Missionary Association 
of China met in Conference, let it be known : 
"1. That, in establishing medical colleges and 
hospitals, their sole object is to bring the blessings of 
healing to the bodies and minds of the people of China, 
and to give a thorough training in medicine and 
surgery to young men of education and intelligence, 
enabling them, as fully qualified doctors, to be of the 
highest service to their country. 

"2. That they have no desire to create permanently 
foreign institutions, and that their aim and hope is 
that these medical colleges will, gradually and ulti- 
mately, be staffed, financed, and controlled by the 
Chinese themselves. 

"3. That the Association is desirous of bringing its 
teaching work into line with the regulations of the 
Ministry of Education, and in all ways to co-operate 
with and assist the Government of the Republic in 
Medical Education, so that a strong and thoroughly 
equipped medical profession may be established in 
this great land." 



XXIV 

THE BEGINNINGS OF MEDICAL EDUCATION IN MANCHURIA 
H.E. Hsu Shih Chang, Viceroy, 1907-1909 

" Let a man contend to the uttermost 
For his life's set prize, be it what it will ! " 

Statue and Bust. 
" Who keeps one end in view, makes all things serve." 

" In a Balcony " — R. Browning. 

IT is unfortunate that in dealing with Manchuria the 
Central Government did not see its way to a con- 
tinuity of policy. From the Russo-Japanese war until 
now, eight years, there have been five Governor-Generals 
or Viceroys, no one remaining longer than a bare two 
years. It has been a remarkable succession of notable 
men, but it has not been the custom to arrange that the 
new official should consult with the old except in a formal 
way. Each one has had his own policy and his own plans, 
and two years were not sufficient to develop them. 

In 1907 it was decided to bring Manchuria into line 
with the rest of China and make it a Viceroyalty, and 
Chao Er Sun was succeeded by another fine man of a 
totally different stamp, the first Viceroy, His Excellency 
Hsu Shih Chang. The political importance of Moukden 
was now well recognized. It had been thrown open to the 
trade of the nations, and Consuls from various countries 
were now in residence, besides a Commissioner of Customs, 
Postal officials, and some merchants. The new Viceroy, 
one of Yuan Shih Rat's right-hand men, set himself to 
maintain before the world the dignity and importance 

Q 225 



226 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

of the Chinese Government. In this and in all his forward 
policy, he was ably seconded by H.E. Tang Shao Yi, who 
was appointed Civil Governor of Moukden. Mr. Tang 
and Mr. M . T. Liang, who was associated with him later, 
were American graduates speaking English perfectly, 
and were eager to bring China into line with the most 
advanced Western nations. Tang Shao Yi came to 
Moukden with the reputation of being " anti-foreign," 
but I saw no ground for this. Pro-Chinese he was, keen 
to uphold the rights and liberties of his nation, and to 
resent any infringement of them, but in all our intercourse 
I found him a fair-minded man, ready to meet more than 
half-way any foreigner who sought the good of China, 
and sympathizing with everything which would tend to 
uplift his country. 

During the couple of years of this regime a good many 
changes were made in Moukden, the most striking being 
the handsome modern building now so conspicuous. 
The old-fashioned, one-story, inconvenient Governor- 
General's yamen, and various lesser yamens throughout 
the city, passed away. In their place rose fine, large, 
roomy, two -story Government offices, where the various 
departments work in convenient proximity, with the 
Viceroy's residence in their midst. In keeping with 
these, a stately pomp was maintained. Official banquets 
were given in the most approved foreign style, at which a 
Chinese military band played, with much spirit, foreign 
music on foreign instruments. When the Viceroy made 
an official visit to the hospital, a regiment of cavalry 
lined the roads as he approached, and a numerous 
mounted escort rode in front and behind. The horses 
and carriages of Viceroy and Governor were well known 
as the finest in the city. 

Education was further developed in these and the next 
few years. Elementary schools were established in every 
large town and many small ones, and at least one Middle 
School in each city. Moukden was provided also with a 




H.E. HSU SHIH CHANG, VICEROY 
" He maintained the dignity of the Chinese Government. 



MEDICAL EDUCATION IN MANCHURIA 227 

large Normal School, a Science College, a Law College, 
a Military College, an Agricultural School, an In- 
dustrial School, a School of Foreign Languages, besides 
the Women's Normal School, two Girls' Schools and 
Kindergartens. For most of these, as well as the Govern- 
ment Bank, Library, etc., large imposing buildings were 
erected. 

A telephone system and exchange were inaugurated, 
and with this our hospital was connected free of charge. 
This has been continued ever since, and proved specially 
invaluable at the time of plague, Red Cross work, etc. 
Electric works were established to supply light to all 
Government offices and buildings. Later on the benefits 
were extended to the public, the main streets were 
lighted, and now very many shops and houses have 
electric light. The hospital and medical college are 
supplied at half price by Government order. 

Local enterprise was also active. A tramway company 
was formed, and a line of horse -tramcars run from the 
inner west gate of the city to the railway station three 
miles away. By this time the Government railway from 
Peking had been extended from Hsin-min-tun to Mouk- 
den. The Japanese railway ran south and north, with a 
short branch east to the coal-mines thirty miles away ; 
and a new Japanese line was projected south-east to the 
Korean border. 

His Excellency Hsu Shih Chang had not been long in 
Moukden before I became well acquainted with him and 
with Mr. Tang ; and their appreciation of the importance 
of our work was shown by the donation of Tls.3100 
(£440) to the hospital, from the Viceroy, Governor, and 
nine other officials. I had many a talk with Mr. Tang, 
especially about public health and the urgent need for 
medical education. 

It had from the first been manifest that foreign mission- 
aries, however liberal the supply, could not hope even 
temporarily to meet the medical requirements of the 



228 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

fifteen or more millions of people in Manchuria, once 
they awakened to a consciousness of these needs. I had 
not been long in China when I began to have dreams 
of Christian Chinese medical men dotted here and there 
all over the land, a Christian medical profession. It 
seemed Utopian, and there was nothing for it but to 
begin by devoting oneself to the immediate requirements 
of the hour, and to limit teaching efforts to training the 
assistants and dispensers wanted for the daily work. 

As time went on, the wider need became increasingly 
apparent, and equally clamant with that of assistants 
for mission hospitals. The appalling amount of prevent- 
able suffering and death came home more and more to 
our consciousness. Confidence in Western medicine was 
steadily increasing, the demand for Chinese doctors who 
could practise it was very great, and it was distressing 
to have this met only by quack remedies, and by such 
dispensers and assistants as left our hospitals with a 
smattering of knowledge. In addition there was the 
growing Government desire for medical officers, civil and 
military. 

Before the Boxer time I had been able to bring a 
limited number of men through a fairly complete medical 
course, and had given them diplomas. Two of them 
continued to assist me in the hospital ; others went into 
private practice, where they are still doing well and 
exercising a good influence. There are two settled in 
Moukden, one of them Dr. Wei, who have always been 
ready to help us in any way without remuneration, and 
have often assisted with the out-patients when my 
assistant was ill or on holiday. These men were well 
known, and requests poured in from Government, the 
Army, Christian congregations, the Missionary Society 
of Manchuria (native), and towns throughout the pro- 
vince. " Give us one of your men ! " they all asked. 

I had more than once laid before our Conference of the 
United Missions proposals for the establishment on a 



MEDICAL EDUCATION IN MANCHURIA 229 

small scale of an efficient medical school. Neither men 
nor money were available, and the scheme had to be 
postponed ; so I arranged to continue to train assistants 
single-handed as before. Then came the destruction of 
our work by the Boxers, the political unrest, the war. 
When peace was established, the Governor-General, 
CJiao Er Sun, invited me to take up medical education, 
and promised his ardent support ; but I was then about to 
rebuild the hospital, and much to my regret it was im- 
possible even to consider it. It was not until now, at the 
beginning of 1908, that our medical work was once more 
in full swing with adequate equipment. 

Still it seemed hopeless to think of the missions 
establishing a medical college. A modest scheme had 
been planned to meet pressing needs by gathering 
together dispensers and assistants annually for short 
courses of lectures. The Union Medical College in Peking 
had been opened two years previously, and we were 
urged to unite with it, and give up all idea of a separate 
institution for Manchuria. I was convinced that though 
Peking might supply us with some qualified assistants, 
it could never meet the growing needs of our Three 
Provinces. Yet the door seemed closed to us, and 
reluctantly I acknowledged that I must give up the hope 
cherished so long. 

Just when the prospects for Christian medical educa- 
tion in Manchuria seemed most dark, suddenly the way 
opened clearly before us. 

It was May, 1908, when one day a distressful piece of 
news was brought us. Next door to the hospital was a 
compound which we had previously tried in vain to buy. 
Its owner was absent ; it was mortgaged and not for sale, 
though we had rented its poor dwellings more than once — 
for a hospital long ago, and for a Refuge during the war. 
Now we were informed that it was sold. That was 
disappointing enough, and a breach of Chinese custom, 
which ordains that the next-door neighbours shall have 



230 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

the first option of purchasing any ground ; but there was 
more. The new owners were the Guild of a southern 
province, who were about to build a large two-story 
Guild-house, with a hall for theatricals, banquets, etc. 
This would closely overlook the hospital ; and the noise 
and clanging of native musical instruments, which after 
modern fashion would continue far into the night, would 
be most serious for our patients. 

I was in despair. I saw member after member of the 
Guild, but they could do nothing. The transaction was 
completed, the money paid, the plans made, the contract 
signed. Soon workmen came, the houses were pulled 
down, bricks and wood arrived, and the foundations 
were being dug. Meantime word of our sad plight reached 
the Viceroy, and at once he came to our aid. 

" If the hospital," he said, " which has done so much 
for Moukden all these years, wants this ground, it must 
have it. Let the building be stopped." 

Negotiations took some time, but ultimately the 
materials were all taken over by Government, the pur- 
chase price paid by them, and the title-deeds handed over 
to me, the money for it being made up by Chinese sub- 
scriptions. While these negotiations were still incomplete, 
we had a visit from some friends travelling in the East. 
We were then talking of the possibilities of the future, 
and what an ideal site this would be for teaching purposes. 
Impressed with the importance of the developments 
here, these friends offered £100 a year towards whatever 
work should be carried on on this new ground. 

Shortly afterwards I had a long talk with Mr. Tang 
Shao Yi about the crying need in Manchuria for men 
trained in Western medicine. He expressed himself as 
anxious that I should undertake medical education, 
and that a college should be established with Government 
help. A few weeks later, just before Mr. Tang left for 
America, he called, along with the Viceroy and others. 
I showed them over the hospital premises, and they 



MEDICAL EDUCATION IN MANCHURIA 231 

seemed greatly surprised to see so many patients, and 
all so clean ! 

" We knew you were doing a good work," said Mr. 
Tang, " but had no idea it was like this." Then the 
Viceroy told me that if I could arrange for medical teach- 
ing the Government would undertake to give Tls.3000 
(£420) a year for ten years. Mr. M. T. Liang was 
appointed to make all arrangements with me, and we felt 
that a medical school, however small, was now secure. 

During the following months a scheme was drawn up, 
and laid before our Mission Council and the Conference 
of United Missions, as well as discussed with Mr. Liang. 
The next spring (1909) I went home on furlough, em- 
powered to bring the matter before our Church and the 
home public, and to raise funds. It was a rather large 
undertaking. We had only an empty site, local subscrip- 
tions from Chinese and foreigners amounting to £112, 
and promises of about £520 a year. We wanted build- 
ings, equipment, and at least two new men. For most 
of my time in Moukden I had been single-handed ; but 
as the number of foreigners increased, it was impossible 
to attend to them in addition to other work. So it was 
arranged that their fees, along with money received 
from the Chinese Railway, Post Office, and Customs, 
should go to the salary of a second Medical Missionary, 
to be associated with me. This was carried out before 
I left, so that we had now a staff of two, as a nucleus. 

It was decided that the college should be a union one, 
the three missions on the spot sharing in its management, 
and provision being also made for full representation of 
the Chinese. It was to be supported entirely outside 
ordinary mission funds ; but the United Free Church of 
Scotland, to which I belong, recognized it as an important 
part of their mission work, and gave every encouragement 
in raising money for it and in appointing its staff. 

In October, 1909, a short appeal was printed, and over 
4000 copies were sent out, chiefly in Scotland. From 



232 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

this I quote : " The object of the college is to give young 
men a thorough training in the knowledge and practice 
of medicine and surgery, and to prepare as many of 
them as possible for Medical Missionary work. It will 
be essentially a missionary institution, run on Christian 
principles, permeated by Christian influence. ... It is 
proposed to draw up a plan for the entire building, and to 
erect at once as much as our funds allow. . . We shall 
not go into debt." 

Four thousand pounds was asked for buildings for 
immediate use, besides enough to make up the salaries of 
two men. The response to this appeal showed that we 
had made out our case. In little more than a year we 
received £4889, and had secured the services of two 
specially qualified and eminently suitable men. Our first 
large contribution gave us special pleasure. Our old 
friend Mrs. Bishop (Isabella Bird) had left some money, 
for a lady friend to dispose of as she thought best, for 
Medical Missions. I had long ago been introduced to 
this lady by Mrs. Bishop, and now she was greatly 
interested in our college scheme, " Just the thing Mrs. 
Bishop would have supported," and she gave me £1000 
with which to erect a wing of the college as a " Bishop 
Memorial." 1 

Soon after I left Moukden the Viceroy Hsu Shih Chang 
was withdrawn. This was no doubt owing to the death 
of the Empress-Dowager, with whom he was a great 
favourite, and the subsequent downfall of Yuan Shih Kai. 
The nominal Emperor had not survived the Empress, in 
popular belief was not allowed to survive her. The 
Prince Regent, who was to rule during the minority of 
the little Emperor, had his own personal feelings towards 
various officials. Yuan Shih Kai was only retained long 
enough to ensure the peaceful acceptance by the country 
of the new ruler ; then he was politely dismissed, and 

1 The subject of Medical Education is continued in Chapter XXVIII. 



MEDICAL EDUCATION IN MANCHURIA 233 

with him went most of those men in whom he had placed 
trust, including Hsu Shih Chang, Tang Shao Yi, and 
M. T. Liang. 

It is tempting to speculate on what the difference in 
the course of China's history might have been, had the 
Prince Regent been far-seeing enough to make a friend 
of Yuan Shih Kai, and give him a free hand to carry out 
his own plans for the development of China, and the 
gradual enlightenment and enfranchisement of her people. 
Would the Revolution ever have taken place ? 



XXV 

THE BLACK DEATH 
H.E. Hsi Liang, Viceroy, 1909-1911 

* Contented for my part 
To give this life up once for all, 
But grant I really serve.'' — Sordello. 

" Pity me?,.. 

No . . . greet the unseen with a cheer ! 
Bid him forward. . . . ' Speed, — fight on, fare ever 
There as here ! ' " — "Epilogue," Robert Browning. 

DURING the winter of 1910-11 Manchuria was swept 
by an epidemic of pneumonic plague, of such a 
virulent and deadly type that it recalled the traditions 
of the Middle Ages, the Black Death which decimated 
Europe, the Great Plague of London. Its origin is still 
shrouded in uncertainty. It was at first believed that 
men were infected by the tarbagan, a species of marmot, 
but bacteriological investigation has not confirmed this 
theory. It is only certain that the disease showed itself 
in the autumn among marmot-hunters and others, 
crowding in the villages on the railway line on the 
Siberian side of the border ; but as it had been known 
before as a local visitation, no special notice was taken. 
The desert mountains of the Tsi-tsi-har province might 
have proved an effective barrier in former days, but the 
Siberian Railway now runs through them, and the infec- 
tion was thus brought to Harbin and neighbouring towns 
in November. Towards the end of the year we heard 
terrible accounts of the awful mortality in the Chinese 

234 



THE BLACK DEATH 235 

part of Harbin, but the spread of the disease southward 
was not anticipated by the general public, as many an 
epidemic rages in the crowded hovels of Harbin, and 
comes no farther. 

This was not bubonic plague, and its spread had no 
connection with rats and fleas. It was communicated 
directly from man to man, and was pneumonic in 
character. Small outbreaks of a similar nature had been 
met with elsewhere in combination with bubonic plague, 
but they had not spread. This was the first time for 
centuries that there had been in the world a serious 
outbreak of pneumonic plague, independent of the bubonic 
variety. Its specially marked feature was its unvarying 
fatality : 43,942 cases are recorded, and 43,942 deaths. 
There was no authenticated case of recovery. As this 
inexorable deadliness became known, it seized on the 
public imagination, and the general terror of the forward 
march of the disease was quite out of proportion with 
the actual mortality. This was well, as it made it possible 
to combat that advance in a systematic and scientific 
way. 

Our Viceroy at this time was H.E. Hsi Liang, an 
official of Mongol race, regarded at his appointment as 
one of the more or less reactionary party who surrounded 
the Prince Regent after the fall of Yuan Shih Kai. 
Personally he proved to be progressive, welcoming 
gratefully any proposal that would be for the good of his 
people. He had the warm heart of a father to those 
over whom he ruled, was moved by their joys and 
mourned with their sorrows — a fine example of the best 
type of the old-fashioned Chinese official. 

He had little direct responsibility for combating the 
epidemic in either of the more northern provinces ; and 
in Harbin the doctors who gathered from Peking and 
elsewhere to fight it were for a time handicapped by the 
incapacity and dilatoriness of some of the leading officials. 
In Moukden it was very different. The Viceroy seemed 



236 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

to have the gift of choosing men, and there were in office 
some of the most practically capable Chinese I have had 
to do with. Specially notable was Mr. Han, the Com- 
missioner for Foreign Affairs, on whom fell most of the 
responsibility for taking steps in plague prevention. He 
knew no foreign language, nor had he a modern educa- 
tion ; but he had read much and was thoroughly up-to- 
date, he had considerable organizing powers, was prompt 
in action, and always ready to adopt any fresh sugges- 
tion. 

I was in close touch with both the Viceroy and Mr. 
Han, and at the beginning of 1911 was asked officially to 
become Honorary Medical Adviser to the Government. 
The Viceroy had learned of the deadly nature of the 
pneumonic form of plague, and was keenly anxious to 
save Manchuria from its grasp. A Plague Prevention 
Bureau was organized, the principal members besides 
Mr. Han being the Commissioner of the Interior, the 
Tao-tai, the Chief of Police, and Dr. Wang, the head 
of the Government Hospital. With these men I con- 
sulted constantly, both privately and in committee, and 
steps were taken, slowly it is true according to Western 
standards, but far more rapidly than I had ever known 
in China, to prepare for the coming fight. 

Before, however, any preventive measures could even 
be discussed, a sick man had been taken to the Govern- 
ment Hospital and had died there of plague. Within a 
few days the alert police reported several other cases, all 
being men who had just arrived by rail from the north. 
It was evident that the railways were the most urgent 
source of danger, and that if the traffic continued, not 
only would Moukden be infected, but the disease would 
be carried by the Chinese line to Tientsin and Peking, 
and introduced among the closely packed millions of the 
provinces of China. Unfortunately the necessity for 
limiting or stopping the traffic came at a specially difficult 
time. Chinese New Year was approaching, and crowds 




H.E. HSI LIANG, VICEROY 
" He had the heart of a father to those whom he ruled." 



THE BLACK DEATH 237 

of coolies were on their way home from the far north. 
A thousand a day were being brought south by the 
Russian and Japanese lines, and cheap tickets were 
advertised by special trains on the Chinese line, for the 
two days' journey from Moukden to Tientsin. The 
Government had no authority over the railways from 
the north, but on their own line they arranged to stop 
first the coolie trains, and then all general traffic. Some 
time later the Japanese also stopped their third-class 
and coolie traffic. 

There were at this time three British doctors on our 
staff, Dr. A. R. Young, Dr. A. F. Jackson, and myself. 
We were all anxious to do our utmost in this fight, but 
it was necessary to divide the work. I had to devote 
myself specially to the general organization and direction 
of anti-plague measures ; Dr. Jackson volunteered for 
the work at the Chinese railway station ; Dr. Young 
took charge of the hospital and attended on foreigners. 

Dr. Arthur Jackson had only arrived in Moukden in 
the middle of the previous November. After a dis- 
tinguished career at home he had been appointed to our 
college staff, for which work he was very specially fitted, 
both professionally and personally. He was a Cam- 
bridge graduate in Arts and Medicine, had taken the 
diploma of Tropical Medicine, had wide experience in 
home hospitals, and was of exceptional ability. Personally 
he won the hearts of all with whom he came in contact. 
We have known many new missionaries, but none who 
became popular with the Chinese so rapidly. He seemed 
just the man for college work, and was looking forward 
enthusiastically to a life among our Moukden students, 
in that new college building whose planning so keenly 
interested him. 

The spectre of Plague was now daily stalking nearer. 
From the 2nd to the 12th of January twenty-three deaths 
were reported in Moukden. On the 1 3th there were ten. On 
Saturday the 14th it was arranged to close the Moukden- 



238 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Peking Railway, and that morning the last special train 
of coolies was sent off, most of whom had come down by 
the Japanese line. They were medically inspected, but 
one of the difficulties in checking pneumonic plague is 
the frequent absence of premonitory symptoms, and 
consequent impossibility of detecting the disease in its 
earliest stages. Two deaths occurred in that train, 
and from Shan-hai-kwan it was sent straight back to 
Moukden, with its 478 souls. 

On Sunday afternoon, a cold winter day, Dr. Jackson 
'phoned from the Chinese station, six miles away, that he 
would be late back, as these coolies were returning, and 
he must stay to look after them. It was a difficult situa- 
tion. Not one of the isolation stations was ready for use, 
and no empty building was available. Some of the 
authorities wanted to let all those coolies who seemed 
well go free, but that meant carrying infection broadcast 
through Moukden. Others proposed to make them 
remain in the trucks till morning, but the temperature 
during the night had fallen to 25° Fahr. below zero, and 
many would certainly die of cold. " We must do our 
best for the poor beggars," said Dr. Jackson. The 
Chinese station was but a temporary one, with scanty 
accommodation and few sheds, but near by were a 
number of large Chinese inns, and in these the 478 
arrivals were hurriedly housed, with a military guard to 
prevent their leaving. 

During the night several died, and next day Dr. 
Jackson began the hand-to-hand fight which lasted until 
he himself was struck down eight days later. A small 
building was set aside for those who had plague, a hospital 
it could not be called ; it was a comfortably warm place 
to die in. Another house was used for suspicious cases, 
most of whom were removed to the plague-house one by 
one. An entire inn was kept for those who had been in 
close contact with the stricken, and so far as possible the 
inmates of the various inns were kept apart. In all these 




DR. ARTHUR JACKSON 



THE BLACK DEATH 239 

arrangements I was able to help Dr. Jackson, and he had 
willing assistants on the spot. At the same time we were 
pushing forward the preparation of a place to which these 
coolies could be removed, for the inns were as unsuitable 
as could be — filthy, dark, damp, low-roofed, huddled 
close together, veritable traps for infection. 

As much as possible of the inspection oL.the men was 
done in the open air, all having to turn out twice a day. 
More than one poor wretch, unwilling to own to the illness 
he felt creeping over him, struggled into line with the rest, 
only to collapse at the doctor's feet, and be carried away 
to die. Inspection inside the inns was also necessary, 
and many times a day suspicious cases were reported 
and seen promptly. On the Tuesday Dr. Jackson went 
to live at the station, in order to be close to his work ; 
and morning, noon, and night was unremitting in his 
efforts to save from contamination those who still had a 
chance of escape. The dying too received his attention, 
and every man in the whole camp knew that no one 
appealed in vain to the foreign doctor. His energetic 
and sympathetic personality made an impression on all 
who saw him at work there, and the Chinese minor 
official who had been appointed to act along with him 
for Government, carried his good report even to the 
Viceroy's ears. All the railway men swore by him, 
and those who came nearest to him in helping him day 
by day have before their inward vision for all time a 
fadeless memory of whole-hearted unselfishness and 
devotion. 

At first it seemed a losing fight. Day by day men saw 
their neighbours fall by their side ; in five days seventy 
died. Panic seized the remainder, the military cordon 
was not very strict, and a number escaped one night, 
carrying infection into the city. But by that time the 
worst was over. There was one inn with no deaths ; 
and its sixty occupants were liberated on Monday, the 
23rd, being first shaven and bathed, provided by Govern- 



240 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

merit with new clothes, and having their train fare 
returned by the railway. Next day the remaining coolies, 
who were not yet out of danger, were removed to a roomy 
compound in an airy situation eight miles outside the city, 
from which most of them were liberated later on. The 
battle at the station was won, but the same day Dr. 
Jackson was taken ill. 

He had always realized the risk he was running, and 
had been most careful in taking every precaution. 
When unavoidably in close contact with patients, he 
would say to his assistants : " Keep back ! keep back ! 
Don't take any risks ! " But for himself he did not reckon 
danger where there was service to do. He rejoiced in 
his work, taking the most lively interest in its scientific 
aspect. " Not many fellows get such a chance as this," 
he said, on his last working day. He was in full vigour 
that Monday, in great spirits over the discharge of his 
sixty men, looking forward to the removal of all the 
others the following day, and talking of his speedy return 
among us and the share he would take in the super- 
intendence of isolation camps. But it was not to be. 
Already Plague had marked him as its victim. We do 
not know the fatal moment. Was it when he supported 
a poor staggering fellow to the Plague-house, or when 
giving a cup of water to the dying ? He had been 
inoculated against Plague, was closely masked, and, as 
we thought, well protected from infection ; but it found 
entrance to his lungs somehow. 

Each morning we consulted together on the telephone, 
and on Tuesday he mentioned casually that he was not 
feeling up to the mark. I went straight to the station 
and found that he was feverish. Not liking his look, I 
persuaded him to go to bed, though he insisted there was 
really no cause for anxiety. All that day, as his symptoms 
developed, we held our breath with fear, saying little, 
and Dr. Young and I took it in turn to be on the spot. In 
the evening the unmistakable Plague sign appeared, the 



THE BLACK DEATH 241 

bloody spit. He was alone at the moment, but his 
unselfish courage did not fail. When Dr. Young returned 
to the room he was met by the warning not to come near, 
and as long as consciousness lasted his concern was for the 
safety of those attending him. Every known method 
was used by Dr. Young and myself, but in vain. The 
disease ran its rapid course, and he died in little more 
than twenty-four hours. 

Dr. Jackson's death came as a terrible shock to all who 
knew him. He was so strong, athletic, reliable, full of 
fun and vivid personality, that it seemed impossible he 
should be so suddenly cut off. We had not realized till 
then what a. hold he had gained on the affections of the 
Chinese who came in contact with him. Their grief was 
sincere and deep. Still more marked was the impression 
made by his death on the officials and the general 
public, who had never even seen him. When it was 
known that he was ill, the Viceroy stationed special 
messengers outside the house where he lay, to convey 
constant news of his condition, and on hearing of his 
death was deeply moved. During the six succeeding days, 
which Dr. Young and I spent in isolation, many telegrams, 
letters, and messages of sympathy were received from 
Chinese and foreigners, and appreciative articles and 
letters appeared in one Chinese paper after another. 
What seemed to strike home to the Chinese heart was 
his youth, his willing service, his death for their sakes ; 
and recognizing him as a Christian they also saw clearly 
that in his death he was but following in the footsteps 
of Another. 

" Now he has given his only life for the lives of 
others, we see that he was a true Christian, who has 
done what Jesus did thousands of years ago." 

" His death in labouring for our country was actually 
carrying out the Christian principle of giving up one's 
life to save the world." 



242 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

" He was able to do what he did because he held 
firmly to the great principle of his religion, to sacrifice 
one's own life for the salvation of others. Dr. Jackson 
has not died of plague, he died for duty, and he is not 
truly dead." 

" He did the will of God, to die for all. He came to 
China to be a teacher in the Medical College, but all 
that he had learned he offered up, to save men. His 
work is not finished, and his death will not destroy it." 

Strange words these, from four different non-Christian 
pens in non-Christian Chinese newspapers. 

A week after his death a Memorial Service was held at 
the British Consulate, attended by the Viceroy, about 
twenty of the leading officials, and almost all the foreigners 
in Moukden. At the end the Viceroy read the address 
which has been so widely circulated : 

" We have shown ourselves unworthy of the trust 
laid upon us by our Emperor ; we have allowed a dire 
pestilence to overrun the sacred capital. 

" His Majesty the King of Great Britain shows 
sympathy with every country when calamity over- 
takes it ; his subject, Dr. Jackson, moved by his 
Sovereign's spirit, and with the heart of the Saviour, 
who gave His life to deliver the world, responded nobly 
when we asked him to help our country in its time of 
need. 

" He went forth to help us in our fight daily, where 
the pest lay thickest ; amidst the groans of the dying 
he struggled to cure the stricken, to find medicine to 
stay the evil. 

" Worn by his efforts, the pestilence seized upon 
him, and took him from us long ere his time. Our 
sorrow is beyond all measure ; our grief too deep for 
words. 

"Dr. Jackson was a young man of high education 
and great natural ability. He came to Manchuria with 
the intention of spreading medical knowledge, and 



THE BLACK DEATH 243 

thus conferring untold blessings on the Eastern people. 
In pursuit of his ideal he was cut down. The Presby- 
terian Mission has lost a recruit of great promise, the 
Chinese Government a man who gave his life in his 
desire to help them. 

" 0, Spirit of Dr. Jackson, we pray you intercede 
for the twenty million people of Manchuria, and ask 
the Lord of Heaven to take away this pestilence, so 
that we may once more lay our heads in peace upon 
our pillows. 

" In life you were brave, now you are an exalted 
Spirit. Noble Spirit, who sacrificed your life for us, 
help us still, and look down in kindness upon us all ! " 

Our hearts were torn with the sense of disaster and 
grievous personal loss, but there rose within us the 
consciousness that he had done more by his death than 
could have been accomplished by a long life, even such a 
life of usefulness as we had anticipated for him. He 
had been preparing for it for many years, and then he was 
but ten weeks in China. The consummation of his life- 
work was pressed into those last busy days, and the 
greatest part of all was his death. 

He is buried in a quiet country spot about a 
mile distant from the college, outside the city. The 
Government gave the ground and built a wall round it, 
and his fellow - missionaries have erected a memorial 
stone. 

The Viceroy had at once sent me a letter of sympathy 
to forward to Dr. Jackson's mother, along with $10,000 
(about £900) " for the use of his family," saying : 
" His heart was in the saving of the world, and he brought 
an incalculable benefit to this land, which I hold in 
grateful remembrance." This money Mrs. Jackson 
immediately gave to the Medical College, that a part 
of the building might form a memorial to her son. The 
Viceroy was deeply moved on hearing of this. " What a 
mother ! " he exclaimed, " and what a son ! " and he 



244 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

said he would like personally to add to it, that the building 
might be a really worthy memorial. For this purpose he 
gave $4000. 

In the hall of the college hangs a tablet with this 
inscription : 

IN MEMORY OF 

ARTHUR FRAME JACKSON 

B.A., M.B., B.C., D.T.M. 

Who came to Moukden to teach in this College, 

Believing that by serving China he might best serve God, 

And who laid down his life in that service 

On January 25th, 1911 

Aged 26 

While Striving to stay the advance of Pneumonic Plague 

The western half of this building is erected 

BY 

MRS. JACKSON, HIS MOTHER 

AND 

HIS EXCELLENCY HSI LIANG 

Viceroy of Manchuria 

Opposite there is an enlarged photograph of Dr. Jackson 
which was unveiled by Dr. Mott early in 1913. 

Soon after Dr. Jackson's death a movement was set 
on foot to raise a fund for the endowment of a " Jackson 
Memorial Chair " in the college. The Viceroy headed 
the list with $5000, and the Board of Communications 
gave $2000. The contributions from many Chinese who 
did not know him show how the death of a foreigner 
" for China " was regarded. The list ranges from Prince 
Su and our two ex -Viceroys Chao Er Sun and Hsu Shih 
Chang, down to humble employees, some of whom sub- 
scribed ten cents, or twopence. The sum raised in China 
amounted to over £1000, but little was done to make the 
matter known at home, so that the response there was 
meagre. 

For the students of the Medical College Dr. Jackson is 




DR. JACKSON S GRAVE 



THE BLACK DEATH 245 

the modern embodiment of the Christian Ideal to which 
they are striving. " He being dead yet speaketh." 
His truest memorial will be found in the lives of young 
men whose thoughts and aspirations have been lifted to a 
higher level by his example, and who seek to live the 
life he lived of service and sacrifice, following the Master 
whom he followed so closely. 



XXVI 

FIGHTING THE PLAGUE 

" Our interest's on the dangerous edge of things." 

" Bishop Blougram " — R. Browning. 

PLAGUE prevention measures were early taken in 
Moukden, and the Plague Bureau faced its work with 
energy and determination. As the disease was spread by 
direct infection, it might evidently be possible to stamp 
it out altogether. Effort had to be directed firstly towards 
keeping new Plague cases out of the city, and secondly 
towards the complete isolation of the inmates of con- 
taminated houses, until the period of danger should be 
over. Unfortunately the former was impossible, for as 
fast as those in contact with one case were isolated, 
fresh cases were imported from the north. We could 
only hope to limit the extent of the epidemic, and we 
directed our plan of campaign accordingly. 

Between the railway stations and the city a temple 
was set aside for a Plague hospital, repairs being begun 
at once. Six isolation camps were arranged outside the 
city in different quarters, three of which had to be built 
on purpose. A bacteriological laboratory was established. 
A burying-ground was selected, and a force of grave- 
diggers hired, who were set to the hard task of digging 
deep graves in the frozen ground where any who should 
die might immediately be buried. The city was divided 
into districts, over each of which was placed a man with 
some medical knowledge, fully qualified doctors not 
being available, and under him were an assistant, a staff 
of sanitary police, disinfecting coolies, and bearers. 
House-to-house visitation was decided upon, that all 

246 



FIGHTING THE PLAGUE 247 

Plague cases might be promptly discovered and removed, 
and contacts taken to the isolation stations. These 
arrangements took some time to perfect, but were brought 
into operation as speedily as possible. 

Meantime the wildest stories began to circulate through 
the country regarding Plague and its origin, many of 
which are firmly believed by some to this day. The 
Japanese were credited with encouraging or even causing 
the epidemic in order to destroy the people and possess 
the land. The old slanders, formerly directed against all 
foreigners, were now revived and applied to them alone. 
It was universally stated that they were poisoning the 
wells. Where the idea originated no one knows, but 
there was hardly a well in city, town, or country that 
was not safeguarded by a padlocked wooden cover ; 
and the well-cleaners were kept so busy that they charged 
four times their usual rates. At first, though most people 
believed the story, no proof was given ; but after a time 
we began to hear circumstantial statements about a 
white powder found round the mouths of wells. Men 
were arrested in various villages with this powder in their 
possession, who were reported to have said that they 
were paid by the Japanese to put it in the water. At last 
I succeeded in having brought to me for analysis one of 
these mysterious packets, picked up by a policeman 
beside a locked well in Moukden. It was found to contain 
a harmless mixture of naphthalin and a white powder 
used in preparing Chinese pork for the market. This 
only increased the mystery. Who scattered these 
meaningless powders over the country ? and why ? 

In the struggle against Plague, the Moukden Govern- 
ment was faced with many difficulties, not unlike those 
which hampered our British authorities in their efforts 
to stamp out cholera in England seventy years ago. At 
the beginning there was general disbelief in the necessity 
or usefulness of preventive measures. It was an absolute 
novelty to the Chinese mind to attempt to check the 



248 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

spread of any infection, and apathy naturally accom- 
panied their fatalism. " This is the scourge of Heaven," 
said many. " All will die whose time has come, and no 
others. Then why take people away to isolation stations ? 
Why burn good clothes and bedding ? " 

Interference with personal liberty was strongly re- 
sented, and still more the disturbance of trade and busi- 
ness. When a shop was forcibly closed and disinfected, 
and twenty-nine persons removed from it to an isolation 
station because of the death of a thirtieth, the merchants 
were highly incensed. The co-operation of the general 
public could thus hardly be expected. When the house- 
to-house visitation began it caused much fear. It was 
said that every sick person was to be removed, and those 
who had been ill for weeks struggled to rise and present 
a cheerful front to the unwelcome intruders. As days 
went on and no terrible results followed from the police 
inspection, it came to be welcomed by many as a kind of 
official certificate of health and protection from Plague. 
The inspection was, of course, far from complete, being 
carried out by untrained men ; but it worked well, 
and to it is largely due the fact that Moukden was saved 
from being swept by Plague, as were Harbin and other 
northern cities. 

The isolation camps were at first a source of great dread. 
Many threw out their dead and concealed their sick for 
fear of being taken there, and Plague cases were thrust 
out to die on the streets, especially from inns and lodging- 
houses. It was said that everyone who went there would 
die, that people were sent from them to the Plague 
hospital who had not Plague, and that some were buried 
before they were dead ; and many other groundless 
calumnies were repeated. Gradually this feeling died 
down. A warm hang was provided, and plenty of good 
food, and there was no need to work. The members of 
each household were encouraged to keep by themselves, 
and when they returned home after their ten days' 



FIGHTING THE PLAGUE 249 

holiday, they found that their houses had been well 
guarded, and that they received full compensation for 
anything burned by the police. 

Another difficulty which greatly hampered the Plague 
Bureau in its operations was the lack of trained assistants. 
In looking back we cannot but wonder at the efficiency 
of the work, considering that hospital students had to act 
as doctors, and that there was no time to give much 
practical instruction to the inspectors and police corps, 
They were helped by the fact that pneumonic plague is 
usually easy to recognize, once it has declared itself. 
Early every morning the Sanitary Police staff, in the 
clean white overalls and masks, started on their rounds, 
each party to its appointed district. Inns, lodging-houses, 
and tea-houses were visited daily, as well as any locality 
where Plague cases had occurred, other districts every 
second day. If a policeman found what seemed a 
suspicious case, he called in the chief of his party. If it 
was doubtful, a note of it was taken and another call paid 
some hours later. If it was clearly Plague, bearers were 
summoned and the patient taken straight to the hospital. 
The district police-station was notified, the inmates of the 
house conveyed to the nearest isolation station, the 
bedding of the sick person and other articles burned, the 
house disinfected and put under guard. 

One day a foreigner saw a sudden stir and excitement 
in a restaurant on a main street ; a man had fallen down 
ill, and quickly became unconscious. The police were 
called, and within two hours all was complete, the 
premises empty, disinfected, and closed, with a cordon 
of soldiers round them. When the day's work was over 
each member of the Plague staff visited a disinfecting 
station, where he had a bath and left his outer garments 
to be disinfected. 

When the isolation stations were ready for use, there 
was a call for men to superintend them. I asked our 
dozen assistants and dispensers for four volunteers, and 



250 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

every man of them stepped forward. This was shortly 
after Dr. Jackson's death, so that they knew the danger. 
A little later another of our medical missionaries under- 
took the charge and inspection of all the isolation stations, 
and found them being well worked and efficiently super- 
intended. 

It was some time before opposition to Government 
measures altogether ceased. The most serious resistance 
was on the part of some merchants, who determined that 
their business should not be interfered with. They com- 
bined to have a Plague hospital of their own, and came 
to me about it at the outset, asking me to take charge 
and to place one of my assistants over it. I tried to con- 
vince them that this could only be done in co-operation 
with Government, and under the same strict regulations 
as were laid down by the Plague Bureau, else it would 
be worse than useless ; but they would not listen. They 
opened their hospital. On one side of the compound 
were isolation quarters, and on the other rooms for 
undoubted Plague cases, who were treated by needling 
and other methods, all under the charge of two native 
doctors. No proper precautions were taken, no masks 
were worn. Rapidly the disease spread. Those on the 
isolation side became infected, and almost all died, in- 
cluding the two doctors. Then in consternation the 
merchants allowed the police to disinfect and close the 
place. It had been in use for twelve days, and 251 had 
died, most of them in the last week. It was a costly 
experiment, but it taught Moukden a lesson. 

Owing to the effective measures taken, the mortality 
in Moukden from Plague did not actually rise high. Most 
of the deaths were in the western slums of the city where 
the migratory coolie class congregate, for the bacilli 
seem to thrive in darkness, dirt, and overcrowded rooms. 
The strong and vigorous seemed as susceptible as the 
weak, and the infection often passed over the aged and 
the very young. 



FIGHTING THE PLAGUE 251 

One important aid in the fight was the posting up of 
placards all over the city, explaining in the simplest 
everyday language the dangers of the epidemic, how it 
spread, and the measures taken against it. A small paper 
called the " Plague Bulletin," giving a daily official 
report, was also widely circulated. Fresh placards were 
issued almost daily. One of these told circumstantially 
how Plague was introduced into a particular village. 
Two carts, laden with tobacco leaf and other things, 
arrived one day at an inn. On one of the carts, hidden 
among the goods, and wrapped in tobacco leaves, were 
two bodies, which the carter had been well paid to convey 
secretly to an ancestral burying-ground at some distance. 
He seemed for some reason to have taken fright, for early 
next morning he left with the other cart, abandoning this 
one with its load. After waiting a day or two, the inn- 
keeper proceeded to confiscate the tobacco to pay the 
carter's inn bill, and discovered the bodies. Fearing to 
have his inn closed by the authorities, he said nothing, but 
secretly had them buried. Within a short time he and 
about twenty others of his household and inmates of the 
inn died of Plague. 

Chinese New Year drew near, the great time for visita- 
tion of friends, when every man pays scores of calls. 
In one proclamation the Viceroy urged his people, in 
fatherly fashion, to refrain from these calls for the sake 
of the public good ; in another he strictly commanded 
all to remain at home that day. On New Year's Eve 
snow began to fall, and continued all night and all day, 
till it was fourteen inches deep, a more effective hindrance 
to moving about than many proclamations. During the 
next two months we had a most exceptional amount of 
snow, two of the falls being over a foot, and several four 
or five inches. Many of the streets were often almost 
impassable, and there is no doubt that this helped greatly 
to lessen the spread of infection. 

The snow brought a new danger — it made easy the 



252 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

temporary concealment of bodies in the heaps shovelled 
into the corners of the yards. The city authorities em- 
ployed hundreds of carts to remove it, first from the 
streets and then from compounds. One of the Govern- 
ment placards announced that a carter had been dis- 
covered to have made large sums of money by carrying 
out Plague corpses hidden in the snow. Ten times he did 
this, then Plague seized him, and every member of his 
household died also. The name and address of the man 
were mentioned, and the public warned against such 
action. These tales and many others like them were told 
in every home in Moukden. 

The Government concerned itself with other places 
besides the capital. Every city and town received copies 
of placards, instructions for guarding against the entrance 
of Plague, and stringent orders as to the carrying out of 
these measures. In one town of about twenty thousand 
people Plague had appeared, and the officials were doing 
nothing, neither isolating, disinfecting, nor even burying 
the dead. I received word from a foreigner that the 
disease was beginning to spread rapidly. An intelligent 
official who had seen something of Moukden methods 
was promptly sent by the Viceroy as special Plague 
Commissioner with full powers, and in three days the 
whole situation was changed, active preventive measures 
set a-going, and the city thereby saved. 

Plague did not confine itself to the railway lines and 
large towns, but soon crept along the country roads and 
into the villages. At first the ignorant people exposed 
themselves blindly to infection. A man in a small 
hamlet came home ill from Moukden and died, his family 
attending on him and performing the usual rites. A 
few days later the entire household of seven died within 
twenty-four hours, except one infant who was found 
wailing beside the dead mother. The neighbours buried 
the bodies and helped themselves to the contents of the 
house — clothing, bedding, etc., even the matting on which 



FIGHTING THE PLAGUE 253 

the stricken had lain. Another few days, and one after 
another was attacked, until the whole of that village, 
about 150 souls, had died, except an old woman of over 
seventy, and three infants. 

Tragedies such as this were reported in the villages 
far and near, till there arose in men's minds a terror of 
Plague, such as the most fatal epidemic of cholera had 
never produced. The instinct of self-defence triumphed 
over fatalism ; the placards and leaflets sent out by the 
thousand from Moukden were read in every village and 
homestead ; and the people themselves instituted 
wonderfully effective anti-plague measures. In very 
many places the inns were closed, and no visitor, however 
intimate, allowed to spend a night in a house. The 
approaches to the village were guarded, and carters 
warned to go round outside. Frequently the villagers 
combined to send in their goods in carts to the city and 
purchase supplies by the hand of reliable men, who were 
not allowed to enter an inn there or come in touch with 
any but those absolutely necessary, and who returned 
home the same day. There were scores of villages round 
Moukden which in these ways prevented the disease 
from entering. 

One afternoon there arrived at a hamlet some fifteen 
miles away a young man from the city to visit his father. 
To his dismay he was stopped and refused entrance. It 
was too late to get back to Moukden that night, so 
the father pled for him and promised he should leave 
before daylight, and the village elders at last yielded. 
In the night he became ill, and in the grey dawn the 
father himself supported him away to a distance, and left 
him to die in the snow. The sacrifice was in vain. In due 
time the father too died, and every member of the home. 
By cutting off all communication with this house from the 
first, the rest of the village was saved. 

A Korean and his wife, medicine-sellers, arrived one 
bitter cold night at a village where the restrictions were 



254 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

less severe, but no one would receive them. At last, 
as they were turning away in despair, a kind-hearted 
Christian had pity on them and took them in. In the 
morning the Korean woman died of Plague, and her 
husband fled. The whole of that household died, and 
several inhabitants of the village. 

The battle with Plague in Manchuria lasted over three 
months, and taxed to the utmost the resources of all 
engaged in it. The earlier half of the struggle was the 
most strenuous, when the number of deaths per day was 
rising and rising in successive waves, and no one knew 
how high it would reach, or whether we should succeed 
in controlling it at all — when the subordinates of the 
staff had not yet learned their duties and were constantly 
making mistakes — when the opposition of the merchants 
and the apathy of the people gave rise to a feeling of 
despair of any good results. The fatal venture of the 
merchants was the turning-point. Fitfully and slowly 
the deaths reported fell during March, until at last there 
was, for the first time since the beginning of January, a 
day without any. Scientific methods were telling, and 
the milder weather helped ; but it was not until well on 
in April that the last case was reported. For the last 
few weeks we had the valuable assistance of several 
foreign doctors from other parts of China ; but the brunt 
of the battle in Moukden was borne by the Chinese 
themselves, who worked intelligently and heartily, 
shoulder to shoulder with their foreign colleagues. 

While Plague was still raging its fiercest and spreading 
fast, and when there seemed reason to fear that it would 
be difficult to stamp it out, the Chinese Government 
invited an International Commission of specialists to 
meet in Moukden to investigate the nature of the disease, 
and to confer as to methods for its eradication and pre- 
vention. Thirty-three delegates were appointed by 
eleven different countries, and I had the honour of being 
asked to be one of the Chinese delegation. It was a 



FIGHTING THE PLAGUE 255 

remarkable gathering, and was accommodated and 
entertained in a unique manner. 

Next door to the site where we were about to build our 
Medical College was an extensive compound belonging 
to Government, used as an Industrial School, but now 
closed on account of the Plague. It was decided to utilize 
part of it for the Conference, and all March workmen were 
busy preparing it. Four long, one-story buildings, one 
behind the other, lent themselves easily to this purpose. 
The front block was transformed into Conference Hall, 
secretaries' rooms, drawing-room, and dining-hall. The 
other three were used for bedrooms, of which there were 
about fifty, as there were secretaries and others besides 
delegates. Each room was comfortably furnished, and 
all were lighted by electricity. No expense was spared, 
and I was frequently consulted as to how to make things 
convenient for the foreign guests. Immediately to the 
east was the old temple which we had used as a hospital 
during the war, the San Yi Miao, now a part of the 
Industrial School. This was turned into laboratories. 
The hospital being so conveniently near, I was asked to 
allow part of it to be utilized as an overflow, and the 
Government installed electric light throughout the entire 
buildings. The most striking part of all the preparations 
was the Conference Hall itself, got up with perfect taste — 
rich green carpet, curtains, and chairs, and round the wall 
instead of a cornice a beautiful trailing device of pale 
wistaria. 

From first to last the Conference and all its members 
were regarded as guests of the Chinese Government, 
and many of the delegates remarked that never in their 
experience of Conferences had they been treated so hand- 
somely. Not only were they entertained as if at a private 
hotel, but there were carriages at their disposal whenever 
they had time or occasion to use them, and their very 
letters were stamped for them. 
The Conference was summoned for 3 April, 1911, by 



256 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

which time there were very few cases of Plague in Mouk- 
den. The delegates and other guests, including members 
of the various diplomatic corps, were received in the 
Conference Hall by H.E. Hsi Liang, Viceroy of Man- 
churia, and the Imperial Commissioner, the Hon. Alfred 
Sze. The Chairman of Conference was Dr. Wu Lien 
Teh, a distinguished Chinese medical graduate of Cam- 
bridge, who had spent the previous months in Plague 
work in Harbin. He presided over the gatherings with a 
dignity and ability which called forth the admiration of 
all. The language most used was English, but Chinese, 
German, and French were also recognized as official 
languages, and Russian and Japanese were sometimes 
employed and translated into English. 

From the opening day until the closing ceremony on 
28 April, the Conference had constant meetings, and 
every aspect of the pneumonic plague problem was dis- 
cussed — its origin and spread, clinical data, bacteriology, 
pathology, measures employed to combat the epidemic, 
and its effect on trade. A complete report of the pro- 
ceedings has been published, with a resume of the con- 
clusions arrived at, so that if ever a similar epidemic 
visits this earth, it will find the medical profession much 
more fully prepared to meet and combat it. 

The Conference delegates were invited to spend one 
week-end in Port Arthur and Dalny as guests of the 
Japanese Government, and another in Harbin as guests 
of the Russian Government. At the conclusion of the 
Conference we were invited by the Chinese Government 
to visit Peking, where we were feted royally for some days, 
and shown the sights of the capital in a way vouchsafed 
to few. We were received in audience in the Winter 
Palace by the Prince Regent along with several other 
princes. At some of the gatherings we met notable 
historical personages, a conversation with the famous 
Prince Ching being of special interest to me. 

The Plague Conference was over, and the epidemic a 



FIGHTING THE PLAGUE 257 

thing of the past, but those months could not be quickly 
wiped out from men's memories. The value of modern 
methods was burned into many a mind, and a knowledge 
of Western medicine, always valued, was now regarded in 
Manchuria as a possession of supreme importance. Some 
apprehension continued lest there should be a recru- 
descence of pneumonic plague in the following winter or 
later, and I was asked by the Moukden Government to 
secure an additional man for the college staff, whose 
salary would be paid by Government, and who would be 
ready for special service in the case of an epidemic of 
Plague or any other serious emergency. A most im- 
portant step was taken by the Imperial Government, in 
establishing at Harbin an Anti-Plague Bureau, under the 
able and energetic direction of Dr. Wu Lien Teh. He 
has organized a staff of fully qualified doctors, and 
established well-equipped hospitals, laboratories, and 
investigation centres at important points from Harbin 
northwards. Provision being thus made for detecting 
and dealing with the disease near its sources, we have 
every reason to hope that Manchuria will not again be 
visited by this terrible scourge. 



XXVII 

MOUKDEN AND THE REVOLUTION 
H.E. Chao Eb Sun, Viceroy, 1911-12 

" 'Tis time 
New hopes should animate the world, new light 
Should dawn from new revealings to a race 
Weighed down so long, forgotten so long.' 

" Paracelsus " — R. Browning. 

ONCE more the head of Government in Manchuria was 
changed, and this time the man who had started these 
provinces in their career of progress was brought back 
as Viceroy. Chao Er Sun held the reins for about a year 
and a half at what proved to be the most critical time 
of Manchuria's history. It was well for China and for 
Manchuria that at this juncture there should be in charge 
of affairs in Moukden a man of such mental grasp, modera- 
tion, firmness, and political insight — a man who was 
willing to sink private opinions and feelings in the effort 
to preserve peace and secure the good of his people. 
While here as Governor-General some years before, Chao 
had lived down opposition and prejudice, and by sheer 
honest work had convinced Manchuria of his worth. 
People looked back to his time as the beginning of ad- 
vance, and he was enthusiastically welcomed on his 
return. He had many plans for the development of 
Manchuria, and we looked forward hopefully to his term 
of office, but his work during that year and a half was 
very different from what was expected. 

Ever since the defeat of China by Japan in 1895, 
and the suppression of the Reform Movement at the 

258 



MOUKDEN AND THE REVOLUTION 259 

coup d'etat of 1898, there had been a growing unrest 
among the youth of the educated classes all over China 
The enlightening education in Christian schools, taken 
advantage of by ever-increasing numbers, prepared the 
minds of many for emancipation. Thousands of young 
men went to Japan and elsewhere to study, and returned 
with their old ideas overthrown. The teachings of 
Kang Yii Wei, Sun Yat Sen, and others bore fruit. 
Those who as impressionable boys glowed with anger at 
the killing of the Reform Martyrs, were now men, and 
could read the modern literature which issued in a 
constant stream from the Christian Literature Society, 
the Commercial Press, and other enterprises. News- 
papers all over the country were doing their best to lead 
public opinion in new channels. In very many hearts 
there had developed a burning desire for freedom and 
self-government. 

The standpoint of Reformers had changed since 1898. 
Though one progressive decree after another had been 
issued by the Throne and most of the points in the repealed 
Reform Edicts had been conceded, and though the Prince 
Regent's Government was committed to a nominally 
constitutional policy, Reformers were not content. They 
now wanted more than this. Like the sibyl of old, they 
demanded the price of delay. It was no longer enough 
that the Imperial Power should graciously grant reforms 
to the people, it was claimed that the people themselves 
were the supreme power who should impose their will on 
the Government. 

In the provinces farther south this was associated with 
intense hatred of the Manchus and determination to be 
done with Imperialism. The blind folly of the Govern- 
ment in supporting the Boxers and thus bringing upon 
the country the heavy burden of the Indemnity, and the 
loss of prestige involved in the Imperial flight from 
Peking, had now their natural consequences. As long 
as the Empress-Dowager lived, no one cared nor dared to 



260 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

take action ; but her despotic hand was removed in 1908. 
When the Prince Regent showed himself willing to yield 
slowly to the pressure of the forces of progress, but 
unable to devise any bold policy as a leader of those forces, 
discontent and disloyalty began to seethe more openly. 
There was no strong man at the helm of State to guide 
the ship safely through the storm, for the one man who 
had shown himself capable, Yuan Shih Kai, had been 
dismissed. One mistake was made after another, both 
in home and in foreign policy. Government yielded 
where it should have been firm, was obstinate where it 
should have yielded. And so came the Revolution. 

Manchuria had somewhat different feelings, interests, 
and fears from the rest of China. In southern cities 
Manchu garrisons reminded the people of their conquest, 
and these Manchus dressed with a difference, spoke with 
a difference, and lived apart from the Chinese. Here 
in the north the racial distinction was well-nigh obliter- 
ated, and there was no antagonism. For some years 
Manchuria had been fairly well governed, so that she 
had less cause than most to complain of the existing 
state of things. Her great and ever-present fear was 
from without. Few men in South Manchuria in 1911 
were so ignorant of political movements as not to realize 
the danger of being absorbed by Japan as Korea had been. 
" Empire or Republic, what does it matter ? " was the 
general feeling of the ordinary country farmer ; " only 
let us remain a part of China." It was therefore some 
time before the revolutionary movement made itself 
prominently felt among us, and when it did it was in the 
cities, and chiefly among the student class. 

The standard of revolt was raised in Wuchang on the 
Yangtze on 10 October, 1911, and events moved quickly. 
The Chinese newspapers in Moukden gave full details 
from day to day, and crowds gathered round the stands 
where these papers are exhibited on the streets. The 
greater part of the city people looked upon the Revolution 



MOUKDEN AND THE REVOLUTION 261 

with more or less favour, but few cared sufficiently to be 
willing to fight for it. In November emissaries from the 
south began to move about, and there was a general 
feeling that something was about to happen. On the 9th 
a written notice was handed in to the Chinese pastor 
at the church, saying that the Manchu rule in Moukden 
was about to cease, but that Christians need not fear, 
as the People's Army would protect them and the 
foreigners, if they did not side with Government. A 
session meeting was hurriedly summoned and a dignified 
and discreet answer written, saying that the Christian 
Church loved peace, and existed for the highest good and 
progress of the whole people of China. Next morning 
the same messenger, a young lad, called for this reply. 

There was much excitement throughout the city and 
great fear lest once more we were to have war. It was 
generally felt that a great deal depended on what attitude 
the Viceroy took up. He was known to be an Imperialist ; 
and as perhaps half the army would be ready to support 
that cause, while the other half were eager to don the 
revolutionary badge, Manchuria would certainly be 
plunged into war if he decided against compromise. 
Something more than mere bloodshed was feared, the 
general apprehension being as to what action Japan and 
Russia would take. 

On 10 November it became known that the police, a 
well-armed force, had received instructions that in case of 
any revolutionary outbreak they were to be neutral, 
devoting themselves to keeping order and preventing 
looting. The same day a meeting was summoned of all 
the leading officials, merchants, and gentry, and a 
Committee for the Preservation of Peace was proposed, 
with the Viceroy as President, which would seek to 
prevent any disturbance, to maintain the neutrality of 
Manchuria in the strife, and to mediate between different 
parties. It was generally believed that Chao Er Sun had 
promised to offer no resistance when the Revolution took 



262 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

place, but had urged its postponement until the rest of 
China should come to a decision, in consideration of the 
special circumstances of Manchuria. 

This, however, did not suit the more keen revolution- 
aries, among whom was one of the leading generals of the 
Army. On the afternoon of the 11th the generals met 
in council, and the story is that he advocated following 
the example of other provinces, killing the Viceroy, and 
proclaiming independence of the Imperial Government. 
It was a critical moment for Moukden and Manchuria ; 
but fortunately the others, especially General Chang Tso 
Lin, opposed him and carried the day, so it was decided 
to stand by Chao Er Sun and the Peace Committee. 
The Viceroy had knowledge that this meeting was to take 
place, and so had his devoted bodyguard at the Govern- 
ment House, who were prepared to defend him to their 
last breath. When after dark two officers arrived and 
demanded to see the Viceroy, the worst was feared, and 
they were politely told at the gate that he was not at 
home. 

" We must give him our message in person," they said 
insistently. " Where is he ? " 

" At the Provincial Assembly Hall." 

The officers and their escort rode off hurriedly there, 
and in great alarm the guard told the Viceroy what had 
happened. 

" I must follow them at once," he said, and ordered his 
horse. His man prepared to accompany him, but he 
stopped them. "I go on this errand alone. It may be 
that I shall not return." 

When he reached the Assembly Hall, it was to find 
himself received with acclamation as President of the 
Peace Society, and to receive the assurances of the 
support of the Army. On the 14th the Committee for the 
Preservation of Peace was formally announced, some 
well-known revolutionaries being among its office- 
bearers, and Chao Er Sun President. After this the 



MOUKDEN AND THE REVOLUTION 263 

excitement subsided for a time, for the Viceroy was 
trusted and liked by all classes. Moukden recognized 
how much it owed to his wisdom, tact, self-effacement, 
and pluck. 

As the winter wore on the wisdom of Chad's waiting 
policy became manifest. Manchuria declared herself 
neutral. All went on as usual, though with a constant 
leaven of excitement and expectation, secret plotting, 
and an occasional threatening of serious trouble. There 
was no bloodshed, and no excuse was given to any foreign 
Power to step in to "pacify the country." Yuan Shih 
Kai had been recalled to power by the trembling Imperial 
party, after wonderfully little bloodshed the fighting in 
the Yang-tze valley had come to an end, and the Revolu- 
tion was being carried on by negotiation rather than by 
the sword. Just as the year closed, an Imperial Edict 
announced that the Throne would abide by the decision 
of the People between a Limited Monarchy and a Re- 
public. 1912 had not gone far before it seemed likely 
that abdication would be only a matter of weeks. 

Under these circumstances it is difficult to see what 
the revolutionary party in Manchuria expected to gain 
by further plotting against the Viceroy and his Govern- 
ment. There was apparently a feeling among them that 
things were going too slowly, that the Revolution would 
be of no account if the same officials were allowed to 
remain in office, and that the murder of some was neces- 
sary to inaugurate Republican rule. 

The general who had been so prominently against 
Chao Er Sun in November had left Manchuria, and the 
one who had now the most important command was 
Chang Tso Lin, a man of only thirty-six years of age, but 
already experienced in fighting and an avowed Imperialist. 
As a lad he had served under General Tso at Ping-yang 
in the Chino-Japanese war. When the Russians domi- 
nated the land he had headed a band of banditti and 
conducted a systematic guerilla warfare. Later on the 



264 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Government, recognizing his military powers, had invited 
him to return to the service of the Emperor and bring 
his men with him. His natural gifts found a place for him, 
and he was now practically Commander-in-Chief. To a 
man of his training, absolute power naturally seemed the 
only right method of government. It was not to be ex- 
pected that he should sympathize with the idea that 
every peasant and workman had the right to say how the 
country should be governed. His soldiers worshipped 
him, for he treated them well, justly, and generously ; 
but they feared him too, knowing that he had the power 
of life and death, and would never hesitate to use it. 
So while Chao Er Sun, as President of the Peace Com- 
mittee, was using every diplomatic means to keep the 
two extreme parties quiet, and to delay action until the 
Central Government should come to a decision, Chang 
Tso Lin, as custodian of the public safety, was watching 
events with an alert army. 

No man was better hated by the revolutionaries, and a 
plot was set on foot for the murder of these two men, 
Viceroy and General, and the immediate proclamation 
of the Republic. Many fine men among the Republicans 
were implicated, specially one who was an old friend of 
the hospital and who had been prominent on the Peace 
Committee. General Chang seems to have had secret 
information as to the treasonable nature of the meetings 
of a " Society of Progress " which had been started, and 
without informing the Viceroy he set himself to find out 
and frustrate their plans. 

On the night of 24 January, a little more than a week 
before the day they had fixed for the Moukden Revolution, 
the General took action. He struck decisively and without 
warning. Formal arrests, accusations, and trials seemed 
to him superfluous. A number of the leaders of the 
revolutionary plot were seized as they left a secret 
meeting and killed on the street by his soldiers. The 
member of the Peace Committee above mentioned was 




GENERAL CHANG TSO LIN 
" He was watching events with an alert army. 



MOUKDEN AND THE REVOLUTION 265 

one of these. His house was also entered and searched, 
and his brother was killed there. Many incriminating 
documents were found, his own commission from the 
revolutionary leaders further south, letters regarding 
help promised, details of the plan for the rising to take 
place simultaneously in various parts of Moukden, a list 
of those to be killed including the Viceroy, Chang Tso Lin, 
and another General, a note of moneys received, and, 
most serious of all for those concerned, a list of fifteen 
hundred names of Moukden supporters. 

When morning dawned it was whispered that General 
Chang Tso Lin's men had entered compounds and killed 
people in the night, but no one dared to criticize or ask 
questions. The next few days were a time of terror. 
Reports were naturally exaggerated, but several score 
must have been killed, mostly in the night-time. It was 
said to be unsafe to be out after dark, and certainly 
soldiers were at every turn, and challenged all passers-by. 
As the wearing of a queue was originally a Manchu custom 
and a sign of submission to Manchu rule, almost every 
student in Moukden had cut his hair ; but now not a 
queueless man was to be seen on the streets even in 
broad daylight. The Viceroy was said to know nothing 
of what was happening until the third day, and then he 
ordered the Black List of revolutionary names to be 
instantly burned. 

During this time there was much fear among the 
assistants and dispensers in the hospital. Some days 
previously we had had a call from a young man, who 
had once been a hospital student, but had not proved 
satisfactory and had left under a cloud. He now returned, 
dressed very smartly in up-to-date foreign garb, and 
with great importance announced that he had come 
from the Red Cross Society of the Chinese revolution- 
aries in Dalny, to ask me to be their President. There 
was a rich Chinese gentleman there, he said, who would 
give a large sum to the society if I agreed. He invited all 



266 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

the hospital men to join also, and they would all work 
together when Moukden was " taken " ; but the assistants 
agreed with me in refusing to have anything to do with his 
so-called Red Cross Society. I counselled him to get 
away as fast as possible before he was arrested, and to 
leave Moukden alone, and he escaped just in time to save 
his neck. Then my assistant, Dr. Wang, was privately 
informed that his own name and those of two others 
were on the Black List found in the conspirator's house, 
having no doubt been given in by that unwelcome visitor. 
It was several days before any of them dared to leave the 
compound. 

A fortnight later was issued the Imperial Proclamation 
of Abdication, and China became a Republic. 

During all January and February and on into March 
General Chang Tso Lin's men patrolled the city every 
night. A band occupied our own Bund, or terrace, and 
challenged us if we happened to cross to the hospital after 
dark. One night a man attempted to slip home from the 
next-door house under the shadow of the wall without dis- 
turbing them, but suddenly a bayonet was at his chest and 
he was summoned to stand. They were quite friendly to 
us, and indeed were placed there to ensure our safety. 
The absence of any attack on foreigners in any part of 
China during the Revolution is remarkable. No less so 
is the fact that no member of the Imperial House suffered 
in any way, and that the Republic was actually pro- 
claimed by Imperial Edict. 

Before the Revolution began, Chao Er Sun was a strong, 
vigorous man, sixty-nine years of age, but youthful for 
his years, with a bright, cheery purposefulness which gave 
one confidence in the years of usefulness before him. Six 
months later he was an old man. The terrible strain, 
personal and diplomatic, broke him down. He never 
knew when his life would be attempted, and lived im- 
mured in the Government Buildings. He was separated 
from his family, who had been sent away out of danger. 



MOUKDEN AND THE REVOLUTION 267 

The fate of his brother was always before him, murdered 
by his own soldiers in his Viceroyalty of Szechuan. The 
deposition of the Imperial Family, to whom he cherished 
a strong personal loyalty, was a sore grief, and he was 
convinced that the people were not able to govern them- 
selves as a Republic. Yet he stuck to his post and re- 
mitted no effort to save Manchuria from the threatened 
anarchy which would be fatal to her. It must have been 
very bitter to him to lower the Dragon Flag — how much 
easier to resign and get away from it all ! — but on the 
appointed day in February he was loyal to the Peace of 
Manchuria as he had been loyal to the Emperor, and the 
five-colour flag of the Republic waved over the Govern- 
ment Buildings. 

Strange to say, the fighting which took place in Man- 
churia in connection with the Revolution was mostly 
after the Republic had been proclaimed. To many 
ardent young Republicans peace was of little consequence, 
they wanted a Revolution, an overturning of Govern- 
ment. The Republican flag, indeed, gradually replaced 
the Dragon over every yamen, and officially all magis- 
trates were now in the employ of the " People's Realm," 
as the Chinese call a Republic. Some of these magistrates 
were certainly slow to acknowledge the change. 

" They are all false ! " denounced hotly the revolu- 
tionary bigots ; " they are not at heart loyal to the 
Republic. Turn them out ! " So here and there local 
rebellions took place, bands calling themselves " The 
People's Army " were raised and officered by hot-headed 
youths, and with the help of local brigands fought against 
soldiers in the pay of the Republic. 

Early in the year I had been asked to take steps in 
forming a branch of the Red Cross Society. A meeting 
of the leading men in Moukden was summoned, to whom 
were explained the objects and methods of the society. 
The Viceroy consented to be Patron, and placed a con- 
siderable sum of money at its disposal. A small Executive 



268 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

Committee of Chinese was formed and I was appointed 
Director. In this connection I had an interesting inter- 
view with General Chang Tso Lin, and found him most 
cordial. A number of his wounded soldiers were in 
hospital at the time, and he knew personally each in- 
dividual, and inquired about them by name. He wel- 
comed the Red Cross Society, promising to give every 
assistance and facility. " For," he said darkly, " much 
blood is about to flow in Manchuria." This gloomy fore- 
cast was not fulfilled. The Viceroy's conciliatory attitude 
prevailed, and there were but skirmishes and risings 
which came to nothing. 

One of these was at Kaiyuan, where a company of the 
" People's Army " entered the town and overpowered the 
yamen. We were wired to for assistance for the wounded, 
and the Red Cross Society was able to arrange that Dr. 
West water, of Liaoyang, and some of our Moukden 
assistants should go up at once with a military guard. 
Officials and soldiers were much impressed with this 
prompt Red Cross aid. Fortunately it was not needed 
for long, the revolutionaries dispersed, their leaders 
escaped south by train, many of the robbers in their pay 
enlisted as Government soldiers, and the wounded were 
conveyed to various mission hospitals. 

While the people throughout China, with the exception 
of a few young zealots, were thankful that the Revolution 
had been comparatively so bloodless — being in this respect 
a contrast to all other Revolutions — there were many 
in the Army who felt themselves defrauded thereby of 
their rights. According to the most ancient customs of 
all nations under the sun, loot was the privilege of a 
conquering force. An army may be organized on modern 
lines, but it is not easy to eradicate that idea, as was 
proved by the amount of loot taken by the Allied Troops 
at the Boxer time in Peking and elsewhere. As there had 
been little fighting, there was little loot ; but this omission 
some of the regiments proceeded to rectify. It began in 



MOUKDEN AND THE REVOLUTION 269 

Peking within a fortnight of the Abdication, when a 
regiment mutinied and looted boldly. During the next 
six months similar risings took place in one city after 
another, some being occasioned by non-payment of 
soldiers' wages. Moukden's turn came in June, when 
over a thousand men mutinied, not of General Chang Tso 
Lin's command. The authorities were warned in time, 
and had the city gates hurriedly closed, so that the looters 
had to content themselves with banks and shops in the 
north suburb. The prompt action of General Chang Tso 
Lin saved the situation, for he called out his men against 
the mutineers, and quelled them after a short, sharp fight. 
A good many of the wounded were brought to our 
hospital. 

In the autumn, when the Republic was an established 
fact, a Red Cross Conference was held in Shanghai, each 
province being invited to send representatives. I was 
asked by Chao Er Sun to represent Manchuria. During 
my absence his resignation, which for some time he had 
been pressing on the Central Government, was at last 
accepted. He was worn out ; Manchuria had been safely 
brought through its most critical time ; and now he 
might well retire. So passed from the stage of public eye 
one of the most valuable servants China has ever had. 



XXVIII 

THE MOUKDEN MEDICAL COLLEGE 

" If you are planning for ten years, plant trees ; 
If you are planning for a hundred years, plant men." 

Chinese Saying. 

IN the spring of 1911 the building of the Moukden 
Medical College was much delayed by the Plague 
epidemic, but at last it was possible to begin it as well as 
houses for the staff. The Viceroy, Chao Er Sun, was 
greatly interested in the progress made during the four 
years since he had opened the hospital, and cordially 
agreed to be patron of the College, promising to open it 
also when the time came. 

During the autumn the unfinished building was 
accidentally threatened with destruction. One night in 
November we were roused about midnight by the un- 
accustomed sound of a loud blowing of policemen's 
whistles, and the racing of feet down the road beside us. 
Learning that fire had broken out in the Industrial 
Buildings used for the Plague Conference, I lost no time 
in reaching the spot. A strong south wind was blowing, 
and the fire raged unchecked, so that soon all the four 
blocks, unfortunately united by a covered way, were in 
flames. There were some pumps and fire apparatus, but 
they were rusty and would not work, so buckets had to be 
used. We got the men to centre their efforts on isolating 
the fire and thus saving the surrounding buildings. A 
double fine was formed down to the river, and a constant 
though limited supply of water furnished by bucket 
in the old Chinese fashion. The well in the compound 

270 



THE MOUKDEN MEDICAL COLLEGE 271 

was also kept busy, and at last, when the danger was 
almost over, the pumps began to work. For a time it 
seemed as if nothing could save a building used as an 
office, just to the west of those already burning. If that 
went, then close by was a wooden outhouse. Separated 
from the outhouse by a narrow road was the College 
with its wooden scaffolding still standing, and its joiners' 
shed full of shavings and wood. Close to the College 
was the hospital. For a couple of hours that office roof 
was drenched with water from the line of buckets, and 
again and again flames were put out where they had 
taken hold. In the College compound our own men 
worked with desperate eagerness, soaking the woodwork 
and extinguishing repeated small fires among the shavings. 
Had the wind veered round even slightly, our position 
would have been most precarious. Gradually the danger 
passed, the fire ceased to spread, and at last died down. 

The College is a compact and substantial building, 
consisting of three stories and basement, on a commanding 
site conspicuous from some distance. The western half 
with the tower forms a Memorial to Dr. Jackson, the 
eastern to Mrs. Bishop, the distinguished traveller. The 
steam heating, electric lighting, water installation, 
fittings, furnishings, laboratory, and other equipment 
were supplied directly from the College funds. It was 
arranged that all the students, not to exceed fifty, should 
sleep on the premises, the top story being devoted to 
dormitories, until such time as a separate block could be 
erected. 

Accommodation was thus prepared for the Medical 
College, which was announced to open its doors early in 
1912. A more important point still lay in doubt : what 
supply of students would there be ? We knew that large 
numbers wanted to study medicine, but could they face 
the Entrance Examination ? All the years of my life in 
Moukden I had dreamed of the time when medical 
education worthy of the name Christian should be 



272 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

carried on here, when we would train our colleagues 
and successors and make sure that our work would not 
die with us. Now a building stood ready to realize these 
dreams — what was to be the outcome ? 

Intimations of the Entrance Examination were sent to 
all the Chinese newspapers and Mission and Government 
schools, giving details of the subjects and conditions of 
examination, length and cost of the medical course, and 
asking candidates to send in their names in November. 
All the papers refused to charge for insertion of this 
intimation, and the principal Chinese daily in Moukden 
called attention to it in an appreciative leading article. 
Before November came, however, the Revolution had 
begun, and the student class, especially in Government 
institutions, were greatly agitated ; and it was from 
Government Middle Schools that we expected to draw a 
large proportion of our candidates. It was therefore 
with some anxiety that the month of November was 
entered upon. As the days went on, applications came 
in by dozens and scores, and 270 names were received 
before the lists were closed. There is no doubt that 
in normal times the numbers would have been much 
larger. 

During the winter the unrest increased so much that 
there was great uncertainty as to how many of these 
candidates would be able actually to come forward to the 
Entrance Examination, to be held on 25, 26 January, 
in thirteen different centres all over Manchuria. All 
Government schools had been closed in December owing 
to the political situation, and the young men scattered 
to their homes. Business was almost at a standstill, so 
that many who formerly could easily afford a College 
course were now uncertain what the future might hold. 
Brigands were numerous, making the country roads 
unsafe and communication difficult. In spite of all this, 
142 men were examined. Five of the following subjects 
were required : Chinese, Arithmetic, Geography, History, 



THE MOUKDEN MEDICAL COLLEGE 273 

Higher Chinese, Algebra, English, Chemistry, Physics. 
All these except the Chinese Classics have been introduced 
into the curriculum within the last six years. 

In Moukden alone seventy-three men came forward, 
and it was interesting to observe that more than half had 
discarded the queue. It was while this examination was 
going on that the sudden blow was struck at the Revolu- 
tionary plot in the city. On our second morning the 
students were excitedly discussing the summary execu- 
tions of the night. By the time the examination was over 
a general terror was abroad, no one knew who was 
suspected, and those without queues were afraid to show 
themselves. Had it been held two days later, but few of 
the men would have dared to appear. 

Of the 142 men examined, the fifty highest were ad- 
mitted, nearly three-quarters of whom were Christians. 
A formal opening of the College could not be arranged, the 
political situation making it impossible for the Viceroy 
to appear at any public function ; and the beginning of 
teaching was postponed until things were more settled. 
On 28 March, 1912, the students were gathered into the 
College, classes were quietly opened, and work begun. 

About the same time as we were organizing this 
Medical College, the authorities of the South Manchuria 
Railway (i.e. Japanese line from Dalny to Kwancheng- 
tze) also arranged to begin medical teaching in connection 
with their Railway Hospital near the Moukden station. 
Since then a building has been erected, and is being added 
to. The teaching is in Japanese, the students being 
largely Japanese, with an admixture of Chinese. A 
school is associated with the College, to teach Japanese 
and German to intending Chinese students. 

Our teaching staff at the outset was somewhat limited. 
It had been arranged in the previous year that Dr. D. D. 
Muir, of the United Free Church of Scotland, who had 
been fifteen years in Manchuria, should be associated 
with me in all the work of the Medical Mission and College. 



274 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

His presence and energy were of vital importance, both 
in the carrying through of our plans and in the opening 
and conducting of the College. We were also joined by 
another man of experience and skill, Dr. Ellerbek, of the 
Danish Mission. Now, in the autumn of 1913, our staff 
numbers eight — seven medical men and a qualified 
chemist, besides medical missionaries in other centres, 
who will give courses of lectures. More are needed, both 
foreign and Chinese, before we can consider ourselves 
fully manned. 

The close proximity of College and hospital is most 
important for clinical teaching, and also enables the same 
staff to work both institutions. We have now 110 beds, 
but this is quite inadequate for teaching purposes, as well 
as insufficient to supply the demand for indoor treatment. 
A couple of years ago we were much concerned that the 
hospital, hemmed in by College, public roads, and 
Government ground, had no possibility of expansion. I 
brought the matter before Government, and they pre- 
sented to the hospital a strip of ground directly behind 
it. Here we planned to erect a two -story building 
which would accommodate at least fifty additional 
patients. Part of this is being built during 1913 with the 
help of fees received from foreign patients. The Moukden 
hospital has always held to the principle of giving healing 
free in our general work. This has stimulated voluntary 
giving much beyond anything we might have gained by 
charging, and has maintained the purely benevolent 
character of our Medical Mission work. Now, however, 
there is a demand from well-to-do patients for treatment 
in private wards, for which they are ready to pay. We 
are making provision for these, and in this way we shall 
be helped to meet our ever-increasing expenditure. 

We aim at having a lady nurse as matron of the 
hospital, to superintend the entire nursing organization, 
and to train male nurses. Only so can we hope to raise 
the standard of our nursing efficiency. 



THE MOUKDEN MEDICAL COLLEGE 275 

Our out-patients are more numerous than ever before, 
forty-five thousand visits having been paid to the dis 
pensary in the last twelve months, and this affords a 
valuable field for clinical instruction. The accommodation 
and arrangements, however, which were suitable when 
all was under one man, become utterly inadequate when 
there are several doctors and many students. Extensive 
alterations have therefore been made, and we have 
now three consulting -rooms, surgical, medical, and 
ophthalmic, besides a large surgical dressing-room and 
an electrical room, so that four doctors may see out- 
patients simultaneously, and students may attend in 
relays to learn their work practically. Our one operating- 
room too was insufficient. We have now two bright, 
modern operating-theatres, with galleries for students, 
expense being met by a legacy from an old friend. 

The College course is a five-years one, comprising all 
the ordinary subjects of the medical course in our home 
Universities. Our Class and Professional Examinations 
are as near as possible equal to the home standard, and 
the diplomas given on graduation will have the Govern- 
ment Imprimatur upon them. English is also taught 
throughout the course, as our men must be able to read 
English medical text-books, if they are to keep up in their 
profession after graduation. At our First Professional 
Examinations, the Board of Education in Moukden at 
our request sent a representative to be present, and the 
Government are very ready to further the interests of the 
College in every way. 

With our limited staff, it is impossible to take in a 
new class of students each year. Our second group of 
men will be admitted in January, 1914, the standard of 
entrance being considerably raised. It is expected that a 
new dormitory block will be built in spring, so that the 
present building may be devoted entirely to teaching 
purposes. 

The training of fully qualified medical men has thus 



276 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

begun in Moukden, and prospects open out before our 
students of lives of rich usefulness. My experience con- 
vinces me that the Chinese are specially adapted to make 
good physicians and surgeons. Their mental powers are 
of a high order, they readily assimilate scientific teaching, 
they have remarkably retentive memories, they are 
accustomed to observe such details as are of the first im- 
portance in diagnosis, they are neat-handed, and they 
make good operators. Our Western methods of study are, 
of course, foreign to them, and one of our chief initial 
difficulties is that many of our students have yet to 
acquire the habit of steady concentrated thought and 
continuous application. 

Among Chinese graduates there is an unfortunate 
tendency to rest content with what they have learned, 
to allow themselves to stagnate mentally, to become more 
absorbed in money-making than in scientific advance. 
It remains for us to create among our men that pride in 
their profession, that readiness to sacrifice much for it, 
that altruistic desire to serve, which are so conspicuous 
in our own land. 

The pronounced Christian character of the College is 
no drawback in the eyes of the general public. It is 
recognized that Christianity and Healing have a natural 
affinity, and the crowds of non-Christians who have 
applied and are applying for admittance prove that our 
religion is regarded with friendliness, or at least in- 
difference. When our first men graduate in 1917, there 
will be many careers open to them. We hope to retain 
several on the staff of the College, and expect that in 
time their usefulness will be equal to that of the foreign 
teachers. Some will become house physicians and 
surgeons in our own and other hospitals. Others will 
enter the Government services, where there is now a 
great demand for fully qualified men. The Chinese 
Christian Church has already expressed a desire for 
medical missionaries of her own. And there are endless 



THE MOUKDEN MEDICAL COLLEGE 277 

openings for far more men than we can hope to supply, in 
private practice all over the country. 

If our men go forth to live and to heal, realizing that 
they do both in the service of God as well as man, they 
will do much to hasten the growth of the Kingdom of 
God in Manchuria. 



XXIX 

AFTER THE REVOLUTION 
H.E. Chang Hsi Lan, Governor, 1912 

" Leave thy low- vaulted past ! 
Let each new temple, nobler than the last, 
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 
Till thou at length art free." 

0. W. Holmes. 

WITH the Republic come new titles and new regula- 
tions in Government affairs. Our Viceroy becomes 
a Military Governor or Tu-tu, and his power is much 
limited. Chao Er Sun's successor is a very old friend of 
mine. During my second year in Moukden I was called 
in to see a child who was dying, of the family of Chang Hsi 
Lan, a minor official in the city. I could do nothing for 
the little patient, but the simple fact that I said he could 
not live till morning and that I was right, established 
my reputation in that household. We soon became 
friendly, and Mr. Chang and members of his family used 
to drop in to tea in quite informal fashion. Afterwards 
he held office in various places, and for years I would lose 
sight of him, but whenever he returned to Moukden we 
renewed our friendly intercourse. In all his appointments 
he approved himself to the people, and when his nomina- 
tion as Tu-tu was known, it was a popular one. The 
Governor in this frontier province holds no easy post, 
but peace has been maintained and entanglements 
avoided. 

Manchuria has her own special hopes and fears which 
the other provinces hardly realize. In her eyes " the 

278 



AFTER THE REVOLUTION 279 

integrity of China " means her own inalienability. Thibet 
and Mongolia are a different question. Manchuria is one 
in language, one in interests, one in loyalty, one in 
government with the rest of China ; and no greater blow 
could be struck her people than to allow any foreign 
power to dominate them. The casual traveller by rail 
receives quite a false impression. From the Siberian 
border he travels by Russian train through a barren and 
sparsely populated region, and concludes that this is 
practically Russian, lost to China. Then he changes to 
a well-appointed Japanese train and becomes still more 
convinced that it is only a matter of time, that indeed 
the whole of Southern Manchuria is already Japanese 
in all but the name. The railway does not follow the 
line of population, and few Chinese live in proximity 
to it, so he sees nothing of the populous villages and 
towns, mile after mile, where neither Russian nor 
Japanese influence or authority is known ; he hears 
nothing of the civic life of cities, the educational develop- 
ments, the far-reaching activities of Government, with 
which foreign countries have no touching-point. As a 
matter of fact, Manchuria since the Revolution is more 
intensely Chinese than ever. 

Next to the Tu-tu, the most powerful man in Moukden 
at present is General Chang Tso Lin, whose well-known 
severity towards those who oppose him has done much 
to preserve peace. By the people he is at once feared 
and trusted to save the country from any real danger. 
As long as the Emperor was on the throne, he strenuously 
resisted any attempt to raise the standard of Revolution, 
and would have fought against it even had no other 
General sided with him. Now that the Republic has 
taken the place of the Empire, he stands loyally by it, 
recognizing Yuan Shih Kai as a man whose lead it is 
possible to follow. 

In consequence of what he had seen in the hospital, 
General Chang resolved to organize a medical service in 



280 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

his army, and made known that he wanted a number 
of doctors. Applications of all kinds poured in, but one 
day in spring he came to me in some exasperation. 

" Will you get me a foreign-trained Chinese doctor 
whom I can trust ? " he said. "I'll give any salary, but 
I want a good man. I don't believe these fellows know 
anything about it, and I can't trust one of them. If you 
could get me a man like your own Dr. Wang, I should be 
well satisfied." I promised to do my best to secure one, 
but it was not easy. 

Dr. Wang had been my right-hand man for years. He 
had come to me straight from school, twenty-one years 
before, and since the Boxer time had been my chief 
assistant, on whom I relied in all things. Indeed, he 
had been doing as much and as important work as a 
foreign missionary, and his quiet, consistent goodness 
had a powerful influence. After the Russo-Japanese war 
the Government had conferred on him an official 
" button " of the fifth civil grade, for services rendered 
to the Chinese wounded, and throughout Moukden he 
was well known and respected. He had been repeatedly 
pressed to go into other service with a large salary. A 
few years ago an offer was made him through myself 
which meant £150 instead of the £45 a year which we 
were able to give him. I left it entirely to himself to 
decide, but he would not even take an hour to think 
it over. 

" Doctor," he said, " you have been my master and 
teacher since I was a child. All I know I owe to you. 
As long as you need me I will never leave you." 

Since then, however, circumstances have changed. 
Now that there are so many foreign doctors in connection 
with our College and hospital, much of the work which 
Dr. Wang used to do must of necessity be undertaken 
by them ; and this will be increasingly so, as medical 
students come to the hospital for practical training. 
In addition to this, the students in the Medical College 



AFTER THE REVOLUTION 281 

are going through a much more thorough scientific course 
than Dr. Wang had, and in a few years they will be ready 
to act as house surgeons and physicians. He saw these 
things clearly, and spoke of them to me. I had failed to 
get a suitable man for General Chang, so I laid his offer 
before Dr. Wang, who after some deliberation decided 
to accept it. He has been given higher rank than any 
medical man has ever had in Manchuria, something 
equivalent to a Surgeon-General, and has a free hand to 
organize a provincial Army Medical Service, being 
responsible to General Chang alone. The powerful 
influence which can be exercised in such a position by a 
man of sterling Christian character like Dr. Wang can 
hardly be overestimated. 

Some days later General Chang called on me and 
thanked me most warmly for giving him so excellent a 
man. In the course of conversation the use of the X-rays 
was mentioned, which greatly interested him. He 
wanted to have a demonstration at once, but was dis- 
appointed to hear that we could not afford to buy it. 

" Get it at once," he said, " and I will pay for it." 
So a complete X-ray outfit is now on its way to Moukden, 
which will be invaluable for both hospital and College, 
and I have a cheque from the General for $2000 (about 
£170) to cover the expense. 

The history of the Republic has so far been a troubled 
one, but only echoes of the bloody strife in the Yang-tze 
valley reached Manchuria. Here all remained quiet, 
though there is hardly a man in the city but has his own 
opinion as to the political situation — changed times 
indeed from the old days when few knew or cared what 
was happening. It is well for China that, in the chaotic 
unrest which followed the establishment of the Republic, 
a strong man was at the helm of the State. That he 
should have right political views and devise permanently 
wise measures was of far less importance than that he 
should be powerful enough to guide the nation through 



282 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

the storms, and save it from the anarchy which would 
certainly have resulted had he failed. The statesmanship 
and firmness of Yuan Shih Kai have prevailed : the 
realm remains one, North and South are to have the 
opportunity to amalgamate, a permanent Government is 
established and recognized by the Powers. 

We still watch anxiously for unexpected troubles which 
may arise, but the authorities are apparently prepared 
to cope with any opposition. A period of rest may be 
anticipated which will give the Government a chance to 
place the administration on a firm basis. President 
Yuan Shih Kai has shown himself just the man needed 
for the crisis. It now remains for him and the capable 
Cabinet he has gathered round him, to pacify the land 
and to cut the ground from under the feet of revolutionary 
agitators by wise and just legislation and government. 

No change of the past two years is more striking than 
the complete revolution in the public attitude towards 
Christianity. Under the Manchu regime it was merely 
tolerated. In the elections for the Provincial Assem- 
blies, no Christian priest nor pastor was allowed to 
vote. While a man's opinions were never asked, the 
conditions of official life and service were such that no 
member of a Christian Church could hold any kind of 
office. Christians were practically shut out from any 
share in the public life and government of the country. 
In the development of enlightened opinion which led 
on to the Revolution, Christian books and Christian 
schools had a large share. The great proportion of the 
English-speaking young men of China have had at least 
part of their training from missionaries, and most of the 
prominent leaders in the Revolution and in the subse- 
quent developments are young men who speak more or 
less English. In addition to this, most of the Chinese 
books on history, political economy, etc., so eagerly 
studied by thousands, are written from the Christian 
standpoint. 




DR. WANG 
The influence of a man like Dr. Wang can hardly be overestimated. " 



AFTER THE REVOLUTION 283 

Yuan Shih Kai had no sooner been made Provisional 
President of the Republic than he announced in un- 
mistakable terms that the disabilities of Christians no 
longer existed, and that religious liberty and equal rights 
were to be enjoyed by all. In many places Christians 
have now positions of importance, and many men in 
office who can hardly be called Christians are in pro- 
nounced sympathy with Christian aims. Some sixty 
Christian members were elected to the National Assembly, 
the Vice-President of the Senate was a Christian, and for a 
time there was a Christian Minister for Foreign Affairs. 
When in January, 1913, the China Medical Missionary 
Association met in Peking, the President received the 
eighty members present with great cordiality, expressed 
his gratitude for all that Medical Missionaries had done, 
and his confidence in the help they would continue to 
give to China. 

There is one missionary organization which has gained 
enthusiastic support in all parts of China — the Young 
Men's Christian Association it is called, but it resembles 
rather what in Britain we call the Student Christian 
Union, combined with a Young Men's Club. The ' ' Society 
of Youth " is its ordinary Chinese title, and in every city 
where it exists the young men gather to it in hundreds. 
Since the Revolution there is not a town of any size 
in Manchuria which does not want a branch of this 
Society, but, for lack of men to work these, it has so far 
been possible to start but few. There is also a demand 
in the larger centres for similar organizations for young 
women. 

In the spring of 1913 large gatherings of students were 
held in Canton, Peking, and elsewhere, addressed by the 
well-known Dr. J. R. Mott. Everywhere the authorities 
gave sympathetic help, and the meetings were large. 
Last of all Dr. Mott came to Moukden. A fortnight 
beforehand I called on the Governor and on the Com- 
missioner of Education, explained to them the nature 



284 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

of the students' meetings it was proposed to hold, and 
asked their advice and co-operation in getting the use 
of a large building for the purpose. They entered 
heartily into the scheme. 

" Just what our students need," said the Commissioner ; 
" every one shall be present." 

No building of sufficient size existed in Moukden, so in 
a large open space near the ancient Fox Temple the 
Government at its own expense put up an enormous mat- 
shed. Here on a Saturday afternoon in March gathered 
five thousand of the flower of Moukden's youth — students, 
ex -students, teachers, and a good many officials. The 
elder boys of the Middle Schools were marched to the spot 
with bands playing and flags flying, and the Commissioner 
of Education himself presided. Dr. Mott gave a powerful 
address, urging the young men to rise to a higher level 
of living and serving their country, and emphasizing 
that Christianity alone can purify and elevate a nation. 
Then the Commissioner said a few words, urging all to 
take heed to Dr. Mott's advice. 

Admission being by ticket only, there was a great 
crowd of the disappointed outside, and these were 
addressed from the steps of the temple where the primitive 
worship of the fox still lingers. Thirty years before 
missionaries had been stoned near that spot ; and just 
where the shed was erected some Christians were beheaded 
by the Boxers in 1900. A second Students' Meeting was 
held the following day, without any processions, and the 
Commissioner again presided. Fifteen hundred were 
present, many of whom undertook to study the Gospels 
and to follow sincerely whatever Light should dawn 
upon them. 

It was arranged that Dr. Mott should call on the 
Governor, who promptly returned the courtesy and 
thanked him warmly for his visit to Moukden and his 
timely words to the students. Then turning to me he 
said impressively : 



AFTER THE REVOLUTION 285 

" The teaching of Dr. Mott comes at a time when it is 
much needed, to guide young men to higher principles. I 
hope it may have lasting results." 

A month later, the missionaries in charge in Moukden 
and the Chinese pastors of the churches simultaneously 
received telegrams from Peking, announcing that the 
Government were requesting the Christians to have a 
Day of Prayer for China. The Governor also received the 
following : 

" Prayer is requested for the National Assembly now 
in session, for the newly established Government, for 
the President yet to be elected, for the Constitution of 
the Republic, that the Chinese Government may be 
recognized by the Powers, that peace may reign within 
our country, that strong and virtuous men may be 
elected to office, and that the Government may be 
established upon a strong foundation. Upon receipt 
of this telegram, you are requested to notify all Christian 
churches in your provinces that 27th April has been set 
aside as a day of prayer for the nation. Let all take 
part ! " 

The churches were crowded that Sunday, special seats 
being reserved in our East Church for the officials. The 
Governor was away from home, but sent a representative, 
and several other high officials were present, including 
the Vice-President of the Provincial Assembly, besides 
a considerable number of others who had never before 
been in a Christian church. Each worshipper on entrance 
received a copy of the order of service, with the Lord's 
Prayer, which is always repeated in unison, printed in 
full, as well as the hymns to be sung, and a special prayer 
which had been written for the occasion and in which 
the whole congregation joined. After an exceptionally 
eloquent sermon from Pastor Liu, one after another of 
the official visitors said a few appreciative words. In all 
was noticeable the note of sincerity, a genuine desire 
that the power of the Unseen should overshadow this 



286 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

New China. The hearts of those were full that day, 
who remembered the day of small things, when a few 
despised believers met quietly in a humble room and 
prayed for the coming of the Kingdom of God in Man- 
churia. 

Along with openness to the religion brought by 
foreigners, and eagerness for foreign clothes, houses, and 
knowledge of all kinds, there is in the new Republic an 
unwillingness for foreign interference which shows itself 
at every point of contact — the natural sensitiveness of a 
young State combined with a residuum of the old anti- 
foreign feeling. In Manchuria the missionaries have 
always sought to foster the spirit of independence, so that 
this increased desire for it in the Church has channels 
ready in which it may flow. 

Manchuria is fortunate in this respect, that it has three 
strong missions at work, instead of, as in some provinces, 
a large number of comparatively weak ones which cannot 
but produce an unfortunate impression of rivalry on the 
Chinese mind. In the spring of this same year, during 
Dr. Mott's visit to Moukden, a gathering took place of a 
somewhat unique kind. At his invitation, a three-days 
Conference was held of representative Christian workers 
from all over Manchuria. There came seventy-five 
missionaries, being about half the total number, Scottish, 
Irish, and Danish, and over a hundred Chinese ministers, 
elders, evangelists, teachers, medical assistants, men 
and women. The key-note of the Conference was Union 
— Chinese with foreigner, Lutheran with Presbyterian, 
one great Brotherhood which shall draw under its in- 
fluence the whole of Manchuria. Denominationalism is 
at a discount. The various missions regard their special 
forms of church government as but the temporary 
scaffolding used in building the Church of Christ in 
Manchuria. That Church is a Chinese one, and the 
Chinese alone will determine its ultimate form. 

In the development of God's Kingdom among men, our 



AFTER THE REVOLUTION 287 

hopes are high that China will play no insignificant part. 
The " Church of Christ in China " cannot long remain in 
tutelage to the Churches of the West. Already she is 
breaking her bands and stretching forward, and it 
remains for the Christian Churches of the home lands to 
respond with sympathetic readiness to this movement. 
Only so can it be ensured that West and East shall go 
forward hand in hand in this work which is advancing so 
rapidly, of leading China into line with the Purposes of 
God, so that she may become a world power for good. 



XXX 



LOOKING FORWARD 



" What is to come we know not. 
We may not share 
In the rich quiet of the after-glow." 

W. E. Henley. 

WHAT is China's future to be ? What will be the 
outcome of this unparalleled effort of three 
hundred millions of people to recreate the State with a 
word ? The wisest will prophesy least. 

What is now happening is without historical precedent, 
and China is as unique in the length of her national 
existence, and in the persistence of her national character- 
istics, as she is in her Revolution. Dynasties have come 
and gone, torrents of conquest have poured over the land, 
still the nation remains. The original convictions of the 
Chinese mind endure unaltered — the all-powerfulness of 
Heaven and its Decrees, the obligation of ancestor- 
worship, the sanctity of family ties, the danger of offending 
spirits of all kinds. Confucius lived and wrote five 
centuries before Christ, and his theories, his philosophy, 
his standpoint towards life, are essentially those of China 
to this day. It is not merely that the Chinese follow 
Confucius ; it is that the Confucian writings embodied 
and continue to embody Chinese thought. 

Is it possible, without irretrievable disaster, to break 
in on the unchangingness of such a land ? All these ages 
it has held together, notwithstanding its seemingly 
decreasing vitality ; but must it not inevitably fall to 
pieces if the aggressive restlessness of the West is brought 
in as a disturbing element, or if any attempt is made to 

288 



LOOKING FORWARD 289 

alter the framework of the nation in accordance with 
modern ideas — indeed, is not Christianity itself a disinte- 
grating force ? 

In spite of her age, in spite of her apparently moribund 
condition of a few years ago, China is proving herself 
strong, is shaking herself from her lethargy, and stepping 
forth from her trammels as a new young nation. It 
was the Dynasty that was moribund, not the People. In 
contradiction to adverse theorizings and questionings, 
these are showing themselves virile, full of energetic life. 
The element of permanence in them is untouched, and 
at the same time it is being proved conspicuously that 
they are capable of influence by world-wide movements, 
that they can assimilate in a remarkable way ideas 
hitherto strange to them. Patriotism, Freedom, Self- 
Government, Equal Rights for All, Progress, Universal 
Compulsory Education, a State Religion — such novel 
expressions are constantly on men's lips and in men's 
minds. It will take time for the new thoughts and 
aspirations to penetrate and permeate the hitherto 
inarticulate mass of the people, but the process has 
begun, and there is hope that those very forces of Pro- 
gress which for a time did threaten to shatter the unity 
of China, may yet weld her into a stronger nation than 
ever before. 

At first it may seem that China is but imitating other 
nations, but sooner or later she will strike out for herself 
on her own new Way. The influence of the West, 
apparently so powerful, works for the most part on the 
surface, but the universal truths sink in. When these are 
absorbed, the unique individuality of her thought and 
inner life, so difficult of comprehension by Westerners, 
will gradually reassert itself. It is too soon to know what 
line the development of China will take, but all who have 
experience of the inherent strength of the Chinese 
character are convinced that she has no insignificant 
future before her. When the new has been assimilated 



290 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

by the old, a power may well be evolved quite different 
from anything the world has yet known. 

The future of the nation rests largely with the youth of 
China. The unenlightened, law-abiding peasantry, who 
form the backbone of the land, have been stirred to 
expect great things of the Republic. Hopes have been 
raised in the hearts of many millions that their country 
is now about to go forward, that education, enlighten- 
ment, and material prosperity are to spread into every 
hamlet. A passionate patriotism has been generated 
which longs for settled peace, established Government, 
a rule of equity, whereby China may develop and prosper, 
and fulfil her great destiny. Among the young men 
who have urged forward this Revolution and this new 
Republic are many of marked ability and intellectual 
power, and with them lies the responsibility for fulfilling 
or disappointing the hopes of the nation. They them- 
selves cannot reorganize the Government and regenerate 
the State without the co-operation of other and older 
men of experience and weight. It is, however, quite 
possible for that reorganization to be hindered and that 
regeneration thwarted by misdirected opposition to all 
measures and all men out of accord with their own views. 
The extent to which China will reap the fruits of her 
Revolution must be decided by the extent to which 
those to whom are offered such great opportunities, are 
willing and able to sink all personal considerations of 
pride or party, gain or glory, and to unite whole-heartedly 
to work for the general good of all. 

The complete change in the principles of government in 
China has naturally its great dangers as well as its obvious 
benefits. The benefits lie mostly in the lap of the Future, 
and can hardly be realized to any great extent until the 
whole country settles down quietly. Now that the 
permanent President has been elected, and rebel factions 
suppressed, we may look for this settling down to be 
accomplished speedily. The dangers are prominently 



LOOKING FORWARD 291 

present in our midst, and are seen by all thinking men. 
A Parliament has been created without evolution. The 
position which it took Western peoples centuries of 
struggle and thought to attain, is claimed for China at 
one stroke, and much is claimed with it which will be 
found impossible of realization. 

There is an unfortunate tendency to discard anything 
old simply because it is old, and to adopt blindly the new, 
the untried, the unknown. The old system of etiquette is 
laughed at. The Western freedom between the sexes 
is imitated and exaggerated without the Christian 
foundation which makes such freedom safe. The Buddhist 
and Taoist religions, with their idol-worship, are openly 
mocked, forgetting that it is better to worship ignorantly 
than to worship not at all. Confucius is disclaimed by 
many because of his attitude to the monarchical system, 
and his morals are set aside. The Five Relationships, 
so important in his theories of the State and the social 
system, are practically reversed. He maintained the 
inherent and permanent obligation of loyalty and 
obedience in these relationships ; but now that the first 
of them, the relation to the Sovereign, is completely over- 
thrown, and the people have become sovereign, what 
need slavishly to follow the other four ? Accordingly 
children begin to scorn and defy their parents, age is no 
longer respected by Youth, pupils determine what and 
when and how the teacher must teach, the young claim 
to be the law-makers and scorn the experience of the old. 

In the eyes of Chinese of standing and responsibility, 
the most pressing danger of the day is lack of moral 
principle in the rising youth of New China. Many a 
staunch old Confucianist would even be glad to see his 
sons Christians, as a safeguard against this new flood of 
unbridled impiety which is invading the land, ignoring all 
old barriers and preaching liberty from all restraint. It is 
striking to hear the opinions of one after another who have 
no manner of interest in the spiritual aspect of religion. 



292 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

" The lack of China's young men to-day," remarked 
General Chang Tso Lin, for instance, " is Tao-te (religion, 
moral principle). That is what I would like in my army 
in order to make my soldiers strong. I have read much 
about the great Na-po-lun (Napoleon). He was a wonder- 
ful general, but he lacked that one thing. He had power, 
but no moral principle, and therefore he was a menace 
to the whole world." 

It is morals and religion in general that is desired, and 
to many the Christian religion is as welcome as any other. 
In every province the openness to Western teaching is 
conspicuous, religious teaching being received almost as 
readily as scientific. Education is the key-note of the 
day. Could every efficient Christian college and school 
be duplicated, they would still be insufficient to meet the 
demand. In such institutions a training is given which 
prepares men and women to resist the evil tendencies 
of the time, and to do something more than live for 
their own advancement and pleasure. 

" What we want is not a National Religion, but a 
religious nation," says a Chinese Professor in a Govern- 
ment college. In looking forward to China's future, 
it is a religious nation and a Christian nation that we 
hope for. Christianity is not proving a disintegrating 
force, as some have feared. In so far as it has prevailed, 
it has tended to reconcile opposing elements, and to 
develop an enlightened and unselfish patriotism. It is 
the link which will bind North and South. It counteracts 
the dangerous tendencies special to these times. It affords 
an altruistic corrective to the rank individualism which 
prevails. It is the only effective preventative of the 
materialism which threatens to engulf the thought of the 
day. We tremble at the evolution of a powerful China 
without Christianity ; but a strong Christian China 
means an irresistible force making for righteousness and 
world-wide peace. 



SUMMARY OF EVENTS 

A.D. 

1583. Beginning of extension of power of Manchus, under 
Nurhachu. 

1621. Moukden taken by Nurhachu and made his capital. 

1644. Peking taken by the Manchus and made their capital. 

1838. French Roman Catholic Mission begun in Moukden. 

1870. Tientsin massacre, 18 French and 2 Russians 
killed. 

1872. Systematic Protestant missionary work begun in 
Manchuria. 

1876. Systematic Protestant missionary work begun in 
Moukden. 

1883. Permanent residence in Moukden of Protestant 
missionaries, and organization of Medical Mission 
work. 

1883-5. War between France and China. 

1885. May. Hospital opened in Moukden. 

1887. Mohammedan Rebellion. 

1888. August. Great floods in Manchuria. 

1894-5. Chino- Japanese War. 

1894. July. Gen. Tso sent with army to Korea. 
„ 10 August. Rev. J. Wylie murdered by Manchu 

soldiers in Liaoyang. 
„ 15 September. Battle of Ping-yang in Korea. 

Gen. Tso killed. 
„ 25 October. Japanese cross Yalu River and enter 

Manchuria. 
„ 3 December. Red Cross hospitals opened in New- 

chwang. 

293 



294 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

A.D. 

1895. 6 March. Port of Newchwang taken by Japanese. 
„ 8 May. Peace signed between Japan and China. 
„ July. Return of missionaries to Moukden. 

1896. Ordination in Moukden of first Chinese pastor in 

Manchuria. 
„ September. Railway concession to Russia, across 

North Manchuria. 

1897. 1 November. Two German priests murdered in 

Shantung. 
,, 14 November. Occupation of Kiao-chou in Shantung 

by Germany. 

1898. March. Occupation of Port Arthur and Ta -lien- wan 

by Russia, and new railway concession from 
Harbin to Port Arthur. 

„ June. Occupation of Wei-hai-wei by Britain. - 

„ 1-21 September. Reform Edicts. 

„ 21 September. Coup d'etat. Return of Empress- 

Dowager to power. 

,, 28 September. Six Reformers executed. 

1899. Boxers organized in Shantung. 

1900. 25 April. Catholics attacked by 2000 Boxers near 

Pao-ting-fu, Chihli. 
„ 26-8 May. Railway stations burned in Chihli and 

railways torn up. 
„ 1 June. Two English missionaries murdered by 

Boxers in Chihli. 
„ 8 June. Mission premises burned in Pao-ting-fu and 

Tung-chow, Chihli. 
,, 8 June. Foreigners given : fuge in Peking Lega- 

tions. 
„ 10 June. Departure of Admiral Seymour from 

Tientsin for Peking with 2000 men. 
j, 10 June. Arrival of first Boxers in Moukden. 

„ 13 June. Hundreds of Christians killed in Peking. 

„ 17 June. Taku forts, at mouth of Tientsin River, 

taken by Allied Fleet. 
., 17-23 June. Bombardment of Tientsin settlement 

by Chinese, 



SUMMARY OF EVENTS 295 

A.D. 

1900. 20 June. German Minister killed by Boxers in 
Peking ; attack on Legations begun. 

,, 21 June. Missionaries privately warned to leave 

Moukden. 

,, 25 June. Last Protestant missionaries leave Mouk- 

den. 

„ 30 June. Massacre of missionaries and Chinese at 

Pao-ting-fu, Chihli. 

„ 30 June. Burning of mission buildings in Mouk- 

den. 

„ 30 June-11 August. Boxer rule in Moukden. 

„ 9 July. Massacre of missionaries by Yu Hsien, at 

Tai-yuen-fu, Shansi. 

„ 11 August. Gov.-Gen. issues Proclamation against 

Boxers in Moukden. 

„ 15 August. Allied Troops relieve Peking. 

„ 1 October. Russians enter Moukden. 

1904. 8 February. Beginning of Russo-Japanese War. 
„ 24 August-3 September. Battle of Liaoyang. 

„ October. Battle of Sha-ho. 

1905. January. Fall of Port Arthur. 

19 February-10 March. Battle of Moukden. 
,, May. Naval battle of Tsu-shima ; destruction of 

Baltic Fleet. 
„ July. Peace signed. 

1905-6. Abolition of opium smoking and poppy cultivation 
in Manchuria. 

1907. 5 March. Opening of new hospital in Moukden. 

., April. Centenary Missionary Conference in Shanghai. 

„ November. Opening of new church in East Moukden. 

1908. Spring. Revival movement in Manchuria. 

,, July. Site provided for Medical College in Moukden. 

„ November. Death of Empress-Dowager and Em- 

peror Kwang Hsu. 

1909. January. Downfall of Yuan Shih Kai. 

„ October. Provincial Assemblies opened in Moukden 

and elsewhere. 



296 THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 

A.D. 

1910-11. November to April. Epidemic of Pneumonic Plague 
in Manchuria. 

1911. 25 January. Death of Dr. Arthur Jackson from 

Pneumonic Plague in Moukden. 

„ April. International Plague Conference in Moukden. 

„ 10 October. Outbreak of Revolution at Wuchang. 

„ 9-11 November. Threatened revolutionary out- 

break in Moukden. 

„ November. Recall of Yuan Shih Kai. Retirement 

of Prince Regent. 

1912. 24-6 January. Entrance Examination of Moukden 

Medical College. 
.„ 25 January. Summary executions in Moukden and 

suppression of revolutionaries. 
„ February. Abdication of Emperor. Proclamation 

of Republic. 
„ 28 March. Opening of Moukden Medical College. 

1913. March. Dr. Mott's meetings for students in large 

cities of China. 
„ 27 April. Day of Prayer for China. 

„ 10 October. Installation of Yuan Shih Kai as Formal 

President of Republic. 



RUSSIA 




OF MANCHURIA 



RUSSIA 




MAP OF MANCHURIA 



T ° m *£}■«._ °\ „*/« £? 2 PROTESTANT CHURCHES 

^ «\ fff f 3 cat™" 

VV. £/,? o// * MEDICAL COLLEGE, HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS 


5 /// _/ «««•>«> [ i 2 JLJIejIL] 




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1'I.AX OK M()l : hlli:\ 



INDEX 



B 



Bannermen, 12, 13 

Bible Society premises, 139, 140, 

142 
Bible women, 190, 214 
Bishop, Mrs. Isabella Bird, 72, 

232, 271 
Blagovestchensk, 164 
Boxers, 121-122, 127-150, 154- 

157 
British and Foreign Bible Society, 

75 
" Buddha's Walk," Moukden, 187 
Buddhist sects, 110, 112 
Buddhist temples in Moukden, 206 



Canton, students' meetings at, 283 

Chang, Blind, 116-122 

Chang Hsi Lan, Governor (1812), 
278, 283, 284, 285 

Chang Tso Lin, General, 262-269, 
279-281, 292 

Chao Er Sun, Governor-General 
(1905-1907), 196-205, 225, 229, 
244; Viceroy (1911-1912), 258- 
270, 273, 278 

Che-kiang, guild-house of pro- 
vincials, 187 

Chihli, province of, 127, 129, 135 

China Centenary Missionary Con- 
ference, 216 

China, Christianity in, 208, 286- 
287, 291-292 ; revolution, 258- 
269 ; 278-287 ; day of prayer 
for, 285 ; future of, 288-292 ; 



medical theory and practice in 
31-41 

China, Emperor of. See Emperor. 

China, Empress-Dowager. See 
Empress-Dowager. 

China Medical Missionary Associa- 
tion, 223-224, 283 

China, Prince Regent. See Prince 
Regent. 

Chinese, adaptability for medical 
work, 276 

— alleged dishonesty, 56-57 

— attitude towards missionaries, 
4-7 

— customs and etiquette, 21-26, 
52-54 

— family life, 61-62 

— fatalism, 40, 58-59, 248 

— friendliness towards Russians, 
165 

— gratitude, 54-55, 148 

— hospitality, 55 

— liberality, 55 

— nervous temperament, 58, 135, 
211 

— politeness, 21, 24-26, 56 

— recuperative powers, 36, 46 

— religion, 62-63 

— respect for reason, 60-61 

— revenge, 60 

— sense of sinfulness, 210 

— sufferings after the war, 184, 
186, 189-196 

— suicide, 59-60 

— superstitions, 36-38 

— sympathy with Japan, 182 
Chinese New Year, 251 
Chinese railways. See Railways 



297 



298 



THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 



Ching, Prince, 256 

Cholera, 48 

Christian Arts College, Moukden, 

200, 214 
Christian Literature Society, 259 
Christianity, revolution of public 

attitude towards, 282-287 
Christians, persecution of by 

Boxers, 144-146, 155-157 
Christie, Dugald, c.m.g., start for 
Manchuria, 1-2 ; work com- 
menced at Moukden, 4-11, 26- 
30 ; experiences of the flood of 
1888, 48-51 ; journey to Hai- 
cheng (1884), 67-70; first 
Sunday in Moukden, 74 ; 
journal of journey in 1886, 76- 
78 ; hospital work, 78-82 ; 
experiences of the Chino- 
Japanese War, 83-98 ; treating 
the wounded at Newchwang, 
99-108 ; return to Moukden, 
107; stay at Newchwang during 
the Boxer Rising (1900), 139; 
return to Moukden, 159 ; 
journey to Tientsin, 167 ; ex- 
pedition to Kaiyuen, 173 ; relief 
work in the Russo-Japanese 
War, 177-195 ; intercourse 
with H.E. Chao Er Sun, 203, 
204 ; views on Medical Mission 
work, 216-222 ; friendship with 
H.E. Hsu Shih Chang and Mr. 
Tang, 227 ; scheme for medical 
education in Manchuria, 229- 
231 ; return on furlough (1909), 
231 ; fighting the plague (1910- 
1911), 236, 246-257; experi- 
ences of the Revolution, 265- 
266 ; appointed Director of 
branch of Red Cross Society, 
267-268 ; interview with 
General Chang Tso Lin, 268 ; 
represents Manchuria at Red 
Cross Conference, 269 ; organi- 
zation of the Medical College by, 



270-277 ; friendship with Chang 
Hsi Lan, 278 ; assistance in 
organizing Army Medical Ser- 
vice, 279-281 ; assistance in 
organizing students' meetings, 
283-284 

Churches, increase in number, 207 

Commercial press, 259 

Committee for the Preservation of 
Peace, 261, 262 

Confucius, 128, 288, 291 

Coup d'etat, 126 



D 



Dalny, 66, 115, 124, 159, 164, 256, 

265, 273 
Daly, Dr., 99 
Danish Lutheran Mission, 75, 115, 

274, 286 
Day of Prayer for China, 285 
Devil possession, 38, 134-135 
Diseases prevalent in Manchuria, 

46-51 
Dust storm, 179-180 



E 



Education, 125-126, 162-163,200- 
201, 207, 214, 226-227, 255, 259, 
292 

— Christian, 130, 163, 200, 201, 
214, 259, 292 

— female, 130, 200, 201, 214, 227 

— medical. See Medical College 
Ellerbek, Dr., 274 

Emperor of China, Reform Edicts, 
125-126 ; retirement, 126 ; 
flight, 232 ; death, 232 

Empress-Dowager, coup d'etat, 
126 ; encouragement to Boxers, 
129, 134, flight of, 151 ; Red 
Cross train presented by, 173 ; 
Reform Edicts, 199 ; death of, 
232, 259-260 



INDEX 



299 



Famine in Manchuria, 51 
Feng-huang-cheng, 96 
Fengtien, 14 
" Firebrand," British gunboat, 

101 
Flood at Moukden, 48-51 
Formosa, 107, 164 
French missionaries. See Roman 

Catholic Mission 
Fulcushima, General, 194 
Fulford, Mr. (Consul-General), 71 

G 

Gao, Mr., 27 

— daughter of, 53 

— son of, 95, 97 
German agent, 94 

German Minister at Peking, 

murder of, 137 
Germany, aggression in Shan- 
tung, 124, 127, 128 
Goforth, Rev. Jonathan, 209 
Governor. See Chang Hsi La?i 
Governor- General. See Chao Er 
Sun, Tseng Chi 



Haioheng, 68, 96, 97 

Hamerton : " Intellectual Life," 

158 
Han, Mr., 236 

Hankow, projected railway to, 125 
Harbin, 165, 256 ; plague in, 234, 

235, 248, 256, 257 
Hei-lung-kiang, missionaries sent 

to, 208 
Hobson, Dr. 217 
Hospital. See Moukden 
Hsi Liang, Viceroy (1909-1911), 

214, 235, 236, 241, 242, 243, 244, 

249, 251, 252, 256 
Hsin-min-tun, 168, 177, 178, 183, 

187, 204 ; railway, 167, 227 
Hsu Shih Chang, Viceroy (1907- 



1909), 225, 227, 230, 232, 233, 
244 

Hun River, 15 ; flooded, 48-49 ; 
picnic on, 132 ; Russian en- 
trenchments on, 179 ; crossed 
by Japanese, 180 

Hung, Mr., 80-81, 82 

I 

IIu, 76, 77 

Imperial edict for exterminating 
foreigners, 137, 138-139 

against opium, 198 

proclaiming a Republic, 263, 

266 
Imperial Proclamation of Abdica- 
tion, 266 
Inglis, Rev. James W., 185 
Irish Mission, 75, 115, 142, 286 
Italy, demand for a sea-port, 127 
Itinerating, 76 



Jackson, Dr. A. F., 237, 238-245, 

250, 271 
Jackson, Mrs., 243, 244 
James, Sir Henry, 71 
Japan, war with. See War 
Japanese, Chinese attitude to, 

83, 105, 106, 109, 182, 194-195, 

247 

— friendliness, 172, 194 

— organization, 85, 166, 182-183 

— policy, 84, 109, 165, 194 

— spies, 182-183 



K 



Kaichow, occupation by Japanese 
96, 97 ; battle of, 99 

Kiayuan, 173; Red Cross Hos- 
pital, 174 

— skirmish at, 268 

Kang Yii Wei, 259 

Kiao-chou, seizure of by Ger- 
mans, 124, 125, 128 



300 



THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 



Kirin, medical mission work at, 76 
Korea, 66, 72, 83, 84, 91, 107, 164, 

165, 209, 260 
Koreans, contempt of Man- 

churians for, 83, 209 
Kuei-chou, missionary murdered 

at, 127 
Kuroki, 177 

Kuropatkin, 170, 177, 179 
Kwan-cheng-tze, medical mission 

work at, 76 
— railway to, 273 



Li, Mr., schoolmaster, 117, 118 
Li Hung Chang, 106, 123, 124 
Liang, M. T., 226, 231, 233 
Liao River, pirates on, 107 
Liaotung Peninsula, missionaries 

sent to, 115 
Liaoyang, 76, 87, 88, 95, 149, 152, 

154; battle of, 167-169, 171, 

184, mission meetings in, 209 
Lieutenant- General, 137, 142, 

148-149, 152, 159, 160 
Liu, Pastor, 140, 147-148, 154, 

285; son of, 211-212 
Lockhart, Dr., 217 



M 



Maclntyre, Rev. John, 19, 68 

MacPherson, Colonel, 203 

Malaria, 51 

Manchuria, country and popula 
tion, 12-15; climate, 43-44 
conditions of life in, 44-46 
diseases prevalent in, 46-48 
floods in, 50-51 ; famine, 51 
religion in, 62-63, 291-292 
travelling in, 64-73 ; progress 
of Christianity in, 74-82, 109- 
115, 207-215 ; Russian rule in, 
151-163 ; condition after the 
Russo-Japanese war, 193-195 ; 



reconstructions in, 196 ; Re- 
vival in, 209 ; women of, 212- 
214 ; medical education in, 
229-233 ; made a Viceroyalty, 
225 ; pneumonic plague in, 
234-257 ; revolution in, 260, 
261-262, 263, 267; after the 
revolution, 278-279, 281 ; 
missions in, 286 

Manchus, 12-13, 86, 259, 260, 265, 
282, 293 

Mansion House Fund, 51 

Medical Assistants, 80-82, 107, 
148, 211, 228-229, 266. See 
also Wei, Dr., and Wang, Dr. 

Medical College, 3, 72, 222-224, 
229-233, 243, 244, 245, 270- 
277, 281 

Medical Mission work, 74-82, 
216-224, 283 

in Moukden, 3-11, 76-82, 

130-131, 163, 188-193, 228- 
232, 274-275 

Medicine, practice of, in China, 
31-41 

Merchant Guild, 157 

Mission policy : admission to the 
Church, 80, 111-114 

avoiding offence, 22-26, 29 

Chinese responsibility, 75, 

161, 286 

desire for unity, 75, 286-287 

training of evangelists, 115, 

214-215 

Missionary Conference, 286 

Missionary Society of Manchuria, 
228 

Mongolia, 279 

Morphia, illicit traffic in, 199 

Morrison, Dr., 221 

Mott, Dr. J. R., 244, 283, 284, 285, 
286 

Moukden, city and people, 12-20 
meteorological table, 42 
climate, 43-44 ; cholera in, 48 
floods in, 48-51 ; famine in, 51 
malaria in, 51 ; journey to 



INDEX 



301 



65-66 ; progress of Christianity 
in, 74-82 ; explosion at, 131 ; 
Boxers in, 133-150 ; condition 
after the Boxer Rising, 152-163; 
panic in, 169 ; occupied by 
Japanese, 181 ; refugees in, 
184-188 ; sanitary conditions, 
188 ; reforms in, 201-202 ; 
mission meetings in, 209 ; 
political importance recog- 
nized, 225; improvements in, 
226-227 ; plague in, 235, 237- 
257 ; mutiny in, 269 ; revolu- 
tion in, 258-269, 273 ; students' 
meetings at, 284 ; Missionary 
Conference at, 286 
Moukden, battle of, 176-183, 190 
Moukden Christian Girls' School, 

201 
Moukden Church, 75-76, 139, 140, 

141, 153, 155, 157, 207 
Moukden, Governor of, 26 
Moukden Hospital, temporary 
building opened, 7 ; new build- 
ing opened, 11 ; work at, 79-80, 
115; New Hospital opened 
(1887), 80 ; tablet presented to, 
88-89 ; donations to, 108, 131, 
227 ; burning of, 139, 140-142 ; 
rebuilding of, 163, 203-206 ; 
extensions of, 274-275 ; X-ray 
outfit, 281 

— Dispensary, 78-79, 115, 275 

— Women's Hospital, 78-79, 95, 
115, 140, 141, 163, 180, 188 

— Medical College. See Medical 
College 

Moukden Merchants' Guild, 205, 

206 
Muir, Dr. D. D., 273 
Murray, Mr., 119 

N 

Nanking, projected railway to, 

125 
Nurhachu, 12 



Nurhachu, tomb of son of, 17-18 

Newchwang, 64, 66, 71, 94, 95, 
96, 97, 101, 105, 107, 139, 140, 
143, 154, 158, 159, 185, 204; 
occupation by Japanese, 103- 
104 ; hospital at, 99-103 

Newspapers, 201, 241, 242, 259, 
260, 272 

Nodzu, 177, 179 

Nogi, 177, 178, 179 

North Tomb Woods, 179 



Official customs, 24-25, 58, 97 
Officials, conservative, 110, 196 

— progressive, 26-27, 111, 225- 
226, 300 

— friendship with, 3, 26-28, 88- 
89, 105, 203, 278 

— warnings from, 96, 137 
Oku, General, 177, 178, 194, 203 
Opium, 136, 198-199 

Oyama, Marshal, 194, 204 



Pao-ting-fu, 135 
Parker, Dr., 217 
Pastors, Chinese, 115, 121, 208, 

214-215, 285. See also Liu, 

Pastor 
Peking, 13, 84, 91, 125, 126, 127, 

128, 130, 132, 135, 136, 137, 

149, 151, 167, 223, 227, 235, 

256, 259, 268-269, 283, 285 ; 

School for the Blind, 119 ; 

Union Medical College, 229 
" People's Army, The," 267, 268 
Ping-yang, 92, 93, 104, 263 
Plague, pneumonic, 234-257 
" Plague Bulletin," 251 
Plague bureau, 236, 246, 250 
Plague conference, 254-257 
Plague hospital, 246 



302 



THIRTY YEARS IN MOUKDEN 



Poppy cultivation prohibited, 

198-9 
Port Arthur, 96, 115, 124, 125, 

164, 165, 167, 173, 194, 256; 

siege guns, 177, 178 
Potiloff Hill, 170, 177 
Prince Regent, 232, 233, 235, 256, 

260 



R 



Railway hospital, 273 
Railways, Chinese, 125, 127, 167, 
204, 227, 231, 236-237 

— Japanese, 194, 204, 227, 237, 
238, 273, 279 

— Russian, 123, 124, 130, 143, 
159, 164, 237, 279 

Red Cross Conference, 269 

Red Cross work, 99-108, 173, 182, 

189, 191, 192, 265, 266, 267, 

268; at Kaiyuan, 173-174; at 

Shanghai, 185 
Reform, 123-127, 197, 257-260, 

282, 289-292 
Reforms in Manchuria, 196-203, 

258-259 
Refugees, relief work among, 

184-195, 197 
" Righteous Harmony Fists," 

Secret Society, 128 
Roman Catholic Mission, 18-19, 

71, 82, 112, 141, 143, 144, 

155 
Ross, Rev. John, 19, 77 
Russian baron, story of, 189 

— friendliness, 159-60, 169, 172 

— Government, invitation to 
Plague Conference delegates, 
256 

— policy, 123, 161, 164-167 

— railways. See Railways 
Russians and Boxers, 142-143, 

149, 151-154 

— Chinese attitude to, 130, 165, 
169, 182, 189, 195 



Saboitisch, General, 153 

San Yi Miao, Temple, 188, 203, 

206, 255 
Scenery of Manchuria, 1, 15-16, 

23-24, 66-68 
Scottish United Free Church 

Mission, 19, 75, 115, 231, 286 
Sebastopol, 172 
Self-support of Chinese Church, 

114, 121, 130, 162, 208 
Seymour, Admiral, 130 ; 132, 135, 

137, 138, 139 
Sha-ho, 169-172, 177, 186, 189 
Shan-hai-kwan, 238 
Shan-si, 129 
Shanghai, 125, 132, 140, 216; 

Red Cross Society, 100, 108, 

185, 269 
Shantung, 124, 128, 129, 131, 

134 
Small River, 11, 48, 49, 140, 141, 

154, 175, 181 
" Society of Progress," 264 
" Society of Youth," 283 
Student Christian Union, 283 
Students' meetings, 283, 284 
Su, Prince, 244 
Suicide among Chinese, 59-60 
Sun Yat Sen, 259 
Sze, Hon. Alfred, 256 
Szechuan, Viceroyalty of, 267 



Vaccination, 36 
Valley of Peace, 116, 117, 120 
Valley of Victory, 120, 121 
Viceroys. See Hsi Liang, Hsu 
Shih Chang, Chao Er Sun 

W 

Wang, Dr., 236, 266, 280, 281 
War, Russo-Japanese, 164-195 
196, 201-202 



INDEX 



303 



War with France, 5, 83 

Japan, 83-115, 162 

Russia, 127, 134, 149, 151- 

163 
Webster, Rev. James, 76, 77, 117- 

119, 185, 209n 
Wei, Dr., 81, 105, 107, 140, 141, 

142, 148, 228 
Wei-hai-wei, 124, 125 
Westwater, Dr. A. Macdonald, 

152, 153, 268 
Winter Palace tragedy, 172, 173 
Women of Manchuria, 13-14, 23, 

24, 27, 45, 59-60, 201, 212- 

214 

Christian, 121, 130, 212-214 

Wu Lien Teh, Dr., 256, 257 



Wuchang, standard of revolt 

raised in, 260 
Wylie, Rev. James, murder of, 

87, 88, 94 

Y 

Yalu, River, 68, 91, 92, 96, 167 

Yang-tze, 84, 263, 281 

Young, Dr. A. R,, 237, 240, 241 

Young, Dr. W. A., 188, 189 

Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, 283 

Younghusband, Sir Francis, 71 

Yu Hsien, 128, 129 

Yuan shih hai, 134, 225, 232, 233, 
235, 260, 263, 279, 282, 283 

Yungling, 76, 78 



WILLIAM BREMDON AND SON, LTD. 
PRINTERS, PLYMOUTH 



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